THREE 


VISITS    TO    AMERICA 


BY 

EMILY    FAITHFULL. 

N 


"  Where'er  a  human  heart  doth  wear 
Joy's  myrtle-wreath  or  sorrow's  gyves, 
Where'er  a  human  spirit  strives 

After  a  life  more  true  and  fair, 
There  is  the  true  man's  birth-place  grand, 
His  is  a  world-wide  fatherland." 

JAMES   RUSSELL  LOWELL. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


NEW  YORK: 

FOWLER    &   WELLS    CO.,    PUBLISHERS, 

No.  753  BROADWAY. 


COPYRIGHT,  1884,  BY 
FOWLER  &  WELLS  COMPANY. 


EDWARD  o.  JENKINS'  SONS, 

PRINTERS  AND  STEREOTYPERS, 

20  North  William  Street,  New  York. 


PREFACE     OF    THE     AMERICAN 
PUBLISHERS. 


IN  entering  into  a  definite  agreement  with  Miss 
Faithfull,  by  which  the  Fowler  &  Wells  Company 
are  authorized  to  publish  the  American  edition  of 
her  book,  three  points  of  importance  were  consid 
ered  :  First,  that  Miss  Faithfull  was  well  known  in 
England  and  America  as  a  lady  of  superior  practical 
judgment,  who  united  good  business  capabilities  to 
excellent  mental  culture. 

Second,  that  she  had  been  engaged  for  many  years 
in  works  combining  philanthropy  and  industry  for 
the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  English  women. 
Over  twenty  years  ago  an  acquaintance  was  formed 
with  her  by  the  late  Mr.  Samuel  R.  Wells  while  he 
was  visiting  London,  and  when  she  was  absorbed  in 
the  multifarious  duties  of  her  publishing  business, 
so  well  known  as  "  The  Victoria  Press."  -It  was 
through  a  letter  of  introduction  given  by  Mr.  Richard 

Cobden  that  the  acquaintance  was  made,  the  letter 

(iii) 


IV       PREFACE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PUBLISHERS. 

itself  indicating  that  there  were  persons  of  distinc 
tion  who  were  interested  in  the  mission,  for  mission 
it  was,  of  Miss  Faithfull  among  the  poor  working 
people  of  the  British  metropolis. 

A  word  here  may  not  be  out  of  place  with  regard 
to  the  nature  of  that  mission,  although  the  reader 
will  expect  to  find  something  about  it  from  the 
author's  own  pen.  Deeply  impressed  by  the  sad 
condition  of  tens  of  thousands  of  her  sisters  who, 
unmarried  and  poor,  were  unable  to  find  suitable  em 
ployment,  Miss  Faithfull  established  a  "  Fund  for 
Destitute  Gentlewomen,"  for  the  purpose  of  supply 
ing  the  means  by  which  young  women  could  be 
assisted  toward  procuring  employment  and  support 
ing  themselves.  The  "  Victoria  Press  "  became  a 
part  of  her  plan,  and  its  development  into  a  publica 
tion  office  of  considerable  extent  furnished  occupa 
tion  and  the  facilities  for  learning  a  most  useful  trade 
to  many  unmarried  women  and  girls.  Here  she 
demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  English  woman  who 
was  destitute  and  dependent  only  needed  a  chance 
to  make  her  own  living  in  some  honorable  pursuit; 
and  the  success  that  attended  this  benevolent  under 
taking  contributed  greatly  toward  loosening  the  bars 
of  convention  that  had  hitherto  confronted  the 


PREFACE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PUBLISHERS.        V 

women  who  were  desirous  of  earning  their  subsist 
ence. 

The  third  point  is  that  the  book  is  not  the  work 
of  an  observer  who  has  made  a  hurried  tour  through 
the  country,  visited  the  more  conspicuous  places 
designated  in  the  common  guide-books,  and  then 
presumes  to  write  "  impressions  "  of  the  people  and 
country ;  but  it  is  the  conscientious  opinion  of  a 
woman  of  matured  intelligence,  who  has  seen  much 
of  human  nature,  and  has  visited  America  three  times 
before  taking  up  her  pen  to  note  her  inferences  from 
what  has  been  seen  and  heard.  Each  time  Miss 
Faithfull  came  here,  she  came  with  an  earnest  pur 
pose  to  study  our  society,  our  women,  our  industries, 
that  she  might  learn  something  of  use  in  her  special 
work.  She  was  each  time  among  us  more  in  the 
character  of  the  learner  than  the  critic,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  her  statements  from  beginning  to  end  are 
entirely  free  from  any  tincture  of  pedantry  or  ego 
tism.  She  speaks  candidly,  frankly,  awarding  cordial 
approval  wherever  she  has  found  matters  to  her  lik 
ing,  and  expressing  as  decided  dissent  or  reproof, 
yet  always  in  kindly  terms,  regarding  matters  that 

e  deems  it  expedient  to  censure. 

In    the    outset    of    their    negotiations   with    Miss 


VI       PREFACE    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PUBLISHERS. 

Faithfull,  which  were  made  before  the  volume  was 
prepared,  the  publishers  believed  that  Miss  Faithfull 
had  things  to  say  to  the  American  people  that  would 
serve  a  highly  valuable  purpose — be  welcome  and 
helpful  to  women  in  the  industrial  callings  and  out 
of  them,  and  instructive  to  society  at  large,  and  that 
in  making  a  liberal  pecuniary  advance  to  the  author 
for  the  privilege  of  publishing  the  American  editions 
they  were  warranted  by  the  expectation  of  meeting 
a  wide  demand  that  should  arise  with  the  announce 
ment  of  the  book  from  their  press. 

NEW  YORK,  Oct.  10,  1884. 


PREFACE. 


IN  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  many  kind  friends 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  I  have  collected  in  this 
form  various  articles,  contributed  during  my  Amer 
ican  tours,  to  the  Victoria  Magazine,  Ladys  Pictorial, 
Pall  Mall  Gazette,  and  other  English  and  American 
newspapers ;  and  I  have  taken  the  opportunity  of 
adding  many  fresh  records  not  hitherto  published.  I 
do  not  pretend  to  offer  any  new  information  about 
a  country  respecting  which  so  much  has  been  already 
written  by  abler  pens  than  mine,  but  this  addition  to 
the  international  literature  of  the  day  may  still  per 
haps  prove  acceptable,  as  "  the  point  of  view  "  taken 
differs  from  that  of  the  ordinary  traveller. 

Throughout  my  three  visits  I  had  one  object  spec 
ially  before  me,  namely,  to  supplement  the  experience 
gained  during  twenty  years  of  practical  work  in  Eng 
land,  in  regard  to  the  changed  position  of  women  in 
the  nineteenth  century,  by  ascertaining  how  America 
is  trying  to  solve  the  most  delicate  and  difficult  prob 
lem  presented  by  modern  civilization.  In  the  hope 
that  the  information  thus  obtained  may  prove  useful, 

I  venture  to   offer  this  volume  to  the  English  and 

(vii) 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

American  public,  and  I' sincerely  trust  that  no  com 
ments  in  these  pages,  upon  political  matters  or  social 
customs,  will  prove  offensive  to  a  country  which  ex. 
tended  to  me  such  generous  hospitality,  and  for  which 
I  entertain  a  profound  and  affectionate  respect. 

EMILY  FAITHFULL. 
19  LEARMONTH  TERRACE, 
EDINBURGH,  October  i,  1884. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

First  Arrival  in  America — Welcome  at  Mrs.  Laura  Curtis 
Bullard's — A  Presidential  Campaign — Personal  rec 
ollections  of  Horace  Greeley — General  politics — 
Disinclination  of  the  best  people  to  take  part  in 
them — Cincinnati  riots  in  1884,  .  .  .  .  I 

CHAPTER  II. 

Reception  at  Steinway  Hall — The  Sorosis  Club — Mrs. 
Croly — Miss  Mary  L.  Booth — Louise  Chandler  Moul- 
ton  —  Clergywomen  —  Dr.  Mary  Putnam-Jacobi — 
Harper's  printing-office — Riverside  Press  at  Cam 
bridge,  Mass. — Women  printers  and  the  Victoria 
Press — Queen  Victoria's  views  on  women's  spheres — 
Mr.  Gladstone  on  monopolies — Messrs.  Young,  Ladd 
&  Coffin's  manufactory  of  Lundborg's  perfumes — 
Mrs.  Stanton  and  Susan  B.  Anthony — Hon.  Gerrit 
Smith  at  Peterboro — Winter  travelling  in  America 
— Mrs.  Parke  Godwin  and  an  Art  reception,  .  .  14 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  President  at  the  White  House — Washington  eti 
quette —  Caste  in  America  —  Women  Lobbyists — 
Women  employed  in  the  Civil  Service — Verdict  of 
General  Spinner  on  the  female  clerks — Lady  John 
Manners  and  the  English  notion  of  their  social  posi 
tion — Draughtswomen  in  English  Engineer  offices — 
Conversation  with  Senator  Sumner  on  Republican 
ism  and  English  loyalty  to  Queen  Victoria— Grace 

Greenwood,          .        . 33 

(ix) 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

PAGE 

Railroads,  drawing-room  cars,  sleepers,  and  hotel  cars- 
Cookery  in  restaurants,  hotels,  and  private  houses — 
Chicago — Mrs.  Kate  Doggett,  Mrs.  Fernando  Jones, 
General  Osborne — The  Soldiers'  Home  at  Milwau 
kee — American  affection  for  England,  .  •  .  .48 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  visit  to  the  University  of  Michigan— President  Angel 
— Andrew  White  of  Cornell — Professor  Coit  Tyler — 
Kansas  State  University — Chancellor  Lippincott — 
Discussion  about  co-education — Columbia  College 
— Rev.  Dr.  Dixand  Professor  Drisler — Consequences 
of  higher  education  on  health — Views  of  Frances 
Power  Cobbe,  George  MacDonald,  Mrs.  Joseph 
Choate,  President  Barnard — Rise  and  progress  of 
the  movement  in  England — Miss  Dawes,  the  first 
Master  of  Arts  in  the  London  University — Mrs.  Lucy 
Mitchell,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  59 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Vassar  College — Professor  Maria  Mitchell — President 
Caldwell — Life  of  the  students — Effect  of  study  upon 
health — Improvements  in  the  direction  of  outdoor 
amusements  between  visits  in  1873  and  1883 — Rid 
ing,  lawn-tennis,  and  boating — Wellesley  College 
and  its  fire-brigade  manned  by  girls — Mills'  Semi 
nary,  the  Vassar  of  the  Pacific  Coast — Miss  Haskell 
at  Godfrey — Payment  of  female  teachers  in  public 
schools — English  Governesses — Colonel  Higginson 
on  the  gross  injustice  of  the  inequalities  existing 
between  the  salaries  of  men  and  women  teachers  in 
the  United  States — Kate  Field  on  the  difficulties 
surrounding  journalism  —  Anna  Dickinson  —  The 
growing  taste  for  plays  versus  lectures,  .  .  . 


CONTENTS.  XI 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

The  Quaker  City — Changes  in  society — School  of  Young 
Lady  Potters — New  Century  Club — The  Mint,  and 
women  employed  in  it — Theatres  and  English  art 
ists — Silk  culture — Mr.  George  W.  Childs,  the 
Ledger,  and  his  work-people— Wootton — Original 
manuscripts  and  autographs — Walt  Whitman :  his 
views  on  New  York,  Boston,  Washington,  and  the 
West — Mrs.  Hannah  Smith  and  the  Temperance 
Union — Coffee-houses,  ......  87 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Boston  :  its  east  wind,  culture,  and  English  look — False 
accusation  of  "  decadence,"  but  gaps  in  the  aristoc 
racy  of  letters  between  first  and  second  visits — Long 
fellow,  James  Fields,  Professor  Agassiz — Asthma 
and  its  remedies — John  Greenleaf  Whittier — Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes — Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  and  the 
New  England  Club — Victoria  Discussion  Society — 
Evacuation  Day  in  New  York  and  Forefathers'  Day 
in  Boston — Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale — Visit  to  the 
Boston  University  with  the  Dean  and  Mrs.  Talbot — 
Miss  Peabody  and  the  Kindergarten — The  Papyrus 
Club— Dr.  Harriet  Hunt— The  Bible  and  the  Woman 
question,  .  .  .  ..  .  .  .  .  .  102 

CHAPTER  IX. 

English  and  American  receptions  contrasted — St.  Louis — • 
Absence  of  gentlemen  at  afternoon  icceptions — In 
novation  at  St.  Louis — Mrs.  Bigelow's  "  At  home  " 
— Dr.  Sarah  Hackett  Stevenson  of  Chicago — Illinois 
women — Judge  Bradwell  and  his  lawyer  wife — Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Hoggan  of  London — Incident  during  a 
railway  journey — Charlotte  Cushman  on  and  off  the 
stage — Compared  as  a  reader  with  Fanny  Kemble 
— Mr.  Sothern  and  Miss  Cushman  at  a  steamer  ban- 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

quet — The  ruse  to  avoid  speech-making — The  model 
town  of  Pullman — Caboose  travelling  in  Wisconsin 
and  Minnesota — Cincinnati  daring  the  flood  of  1883 
,  — Governor  Noyes — Murat  Halstead  and  Mr.  Pro- 
basco,  .  .  ^ 115 

CHAPTER  X. 

New  Year's  Day  [1884]  in  Colorado — The  Rocky  Moun 
tains —  Denver — Mrs.  Olive  Wright  —  Greeley — 
Ralph  Meeker — Dynamite  Agitators  —  Colorado 
Springs — General  Palmer's  enterprise — Dr.  Solly — 
President  Tenny's  picnic  in  January — Journey  over 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  through  the  Grand  Canyon 
of  the  Arkansas — Salida — Marshall  Pass — Gunnison 
— Across  the  desert  to  Salt  Lake  City,  .  .  .  1 33 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Brigham  Young  and  the  "  true  inwardness  of  Mormon- 
ism  " — Inducements  to  converts  to  emigrate  to  the 
"promised  land" — Polygamy  kept  out  of  sight — 
Zion's  poet-laureate,  Eliza  Snow — Mrs.  Emmeline 
Wells,  etc. — Mormon  women  and  wives — The  effects 
of  polygamy — Sermons  in  the  Tabernacle  and  Sun 
day  evening  ward  meetings — Brigham  Young  and 
others  on  the  "  women's  discontent  " — Exclusion  of 
unmarried  women  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven — 
Introduction  of  second  wives — The  effect  of  any 
lengthened  visit  to  Salt  Lake  City — War  between 
Mormons  and  Gentiles — Endowment  House,  with 
its  religious  dramas,  baptisms,  and  sealings,  .  .158 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  President's  Secretary,  Mr.  George  Reynolds — Mr. 
G.  Q.  Cannon — A  religious  argument  after  the  Presi 
dent's  luncheon — The  ox-team  wagon  journey  across 
the  plains  —  Mormon  amusements,  theatres  and 
dances — The  effect  of  stage-plays  on  the  plural  wives 
— Captain  Boyd  on  the  Latter-Day  Saints — The  Mor- 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PAGB 

mon  Bible — The  Doctrines  and  Covenants — "Joseph 
the  Seer's  "  revelations  from  the  Lord  to  his  wife 
Emma — The  women's  right  to  the  franchise  and 
their  deprivation  of  dower — Accusations  against  the 
Gentiles — Mormon  criminal  statistics — The  Salt 
Lake  Tribtme  on  "  Gulled  English  travellers  " — 
Celestial  marriages  and  divorces — General  Murray — 
Mrs.  Paddick— The  duty  of  Congress,  .  .  .188 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

American  hotel  despotism  :  Hours  for  meals — The  jour 
ney  across  the  desert  from  Ogden — The  disappear 
ance  of  the  Indians  and  buffaloes  from  the  railroad 
tracts — The  flight  of  antelopes — The  Sierra-Nevada 
mountains — San  Francisco — Palace  Hotel — Bell 
boys  and  hotel  servants  generally — China-town  in  its 
New- Year  garb — Cable-cars — Drives  to  the  Cliff 
House  through  the  Park  and  to  the  Presidio — 
Wooden  houses — Fires  and  the  Fire  Brigade — Dr. 
Hardy's  Foundling  Hospital  on  Golden  Gate  Avenue,  211 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Strange  contrasts  afforded — Drinking  and  total  absti 
nence — Divorces — Fast  sets  and  earnest  reform 
workers — Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cooper — Free  Kindergar 
tens—Mr.  Tabor's  Art  Gallery — Lotta  Crabtree's 
fountain — The  Baldwin  Hotel — Mr.  Highton — Silk 
culture — Efforts  of  Mrs.  Hittell  and  the  State  Board 
— Prizes  won  at  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition  by  Cali- 
fornian  ladies  for  the  best  silk  cocoons  raised  in  the 
United  States — Commercial  opportunities  of  San 
Francisco — The  Immigration  Association — Chinese 
labor  question,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  228 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Strawberries  in  February  ;  roses  and  geraniums  growing 
in  the  open  air — New  Orleans  and  Colorado  and  Cali 
fornia  contrasted — Oakland  and  the  Ebell  Society 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

— Fresno — An  exciting  drive  through  the  colonies 
— Miss  Austin's  vineyard— Mr.  Miller  of  the  Fresno 
Republican — Mr.  A.  B.  Butler — Raisin-making — The 
Eisen  vineyard — Sampling  California  wines — Fam 
ily  Emigration  and  the  kind  of  people  wanted — Bee 
culture — An  ostrich  ranche,  .  .  .  .  .  247 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  orange  groves  at  Los  Angeles — The  unprecedented 
rainfall  of  1884 — Riverside — Pasedena — Mrs.  Jennie 
Carr — Practical  work  for  women  in  California — 
Mrs.  Strong's  cotton  ranche — Mrs.  Rogers's  40,000 
herd  of  cattle  in  Texas  — Domestic  servants — Emi 
gration — Mrs.  E.  L.  Blanchard — Openings  in  Aus 
tralia  and  New  Zealand — The  Geysers  and  Mineral 
Springs — Southern  Pacific  Railroad — Glimpses  of 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico — Kansas — Cattle  ranches 
in  Wyoming,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  260 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Divorce — Journalistic  announcements,  advertisements, 
and  paragraphs — Two  strange  divorces  followed  by 
remarriages — Divorces  traced  by  the  American  press 
to  the  increase  of  mercenary  marriages — Dr.  Dwi- 
nell's  statistics — Chief-Justice  Noah  Davis  at  the 
Nineteenth  Century  Club  Meeting  on  divorce — Mr. 
Charles  Stuart  Welles — The  Rev.  Robert  Collyer — 
The  moral  effect  of  the  Divorce  Court  in  England,  .  278 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Occupations  open  to  women  in  1840,  when  Harriet  Mar- 
tineau  visited  America,  contrasted  with  those  of  to 
day — The  servant  question — The  change  effected  in 
woman's  position  by  the  introduction  of  machinery 
— English  prejudice  and  social  status  notions — 
Home  employments — Ladies'  Work  Societies  and 
the  Woman's  Exchange — Artistic  developments  in 
both  countries — Mrs.  M'Clelland's  mirror  painting — 
Mrs.  Fleet's  illuminations — New  York  technical 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAGE 

schools  and  Cooper  Institute — Boston  art  schools — 
Mrs.  Cameron's  photographs — China  painting — 
Wood  engraving,  designs  for  manufacturers,  and 
wall  papers — Lustre  painting — Mr.  Denny's  women- 
tracers  in  the  Dumbarton  ship-yard — Architects — 
The  higher  branches  of  Art — Mrs.  Nimmo  Morant 
as  an  etcher — American  and  English  actresses — 
Dramatic  reciters — Mrs.  Livermore — The  Hon.  Mrs. 
Maberley's  dairy — Ladies  in  business,  .  .  .  .  292 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  woman  switchman — Laundry  work — A  steamboat 
captain — Mrs.  Maxwell  of  Colorado — Inconsisten 
cies — Book  agents — Stock-brokers — Copyists — Li 
brarians — Incomes  earned  by  shorthand  writers — 
Employment  afforded  by  the  type-writer,  the  tele 
graph,  and  the  telephone — The  manicure — Ameri 
can  disapproval  of  the  employment  of  women  as 
barmaids — The  force  of  habit — Objections  raised  at 
first  against  women  hair-dressers — Factory  life — 
American  and  English  operatives  contrasted — Miss 
Jennie  Collins  of  Boston — Various  industries— To 
bacco  factories—  Ladies  on  school  boards  and  as 
poor-law  guardians — The  condition  of  the  needle 
women  in  New  York — The  late  Leonard  Montefiore 
— Hamilton  &  Co.'s  co-operative  shirt-making — 
Watch-making  in  the  United  States — A  visit  to  the 
National  Elgin  Watch  Factory — Waltham  factory,  317 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  American  girl — Oscar  Wilde's  definition — A  group 
at  St.  Louis — Girl  graduates— Other  types — The 
liberty  accorded  to  girls — A  collegiate's  affronted 
dignity  at  the  suggestion  of  a  chaperon — English 
and  French  restrictions — America  the  paradise  of 
married  women — The  deference  paid  by  gentlemen 
to  ladies — A  report  of  a  women's  meeting  excites  a 
"Tit  for  Tat  "  policy  in  a  lady  reporter— Changed 
spirit  of  the  press — A  skit  on  a  woman's  rights  lect- 


XVI  {'        CONTENTS. 

•  PAGE 

ure  contrasted  with  the  dignified  utterances  of  Mrs. 
Howe,  Mrs.  Stanton,  and  Mrs.  Livermore — Grace 
Greenwood  on  "  sufferance  " — The  Queen  as  a  poli 
tician,  and  a  wife  and  mother — Mr.  Woodall's  Bill,  336 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Anthony  Trollope  on  English,  American,  and  Australian 
newspapers — Special  features  of  American  journal 
ism — Its  wonderful  enterprise — The  interviewer — 
Mrs.  Langtrj — Herbert  Spencer — Ladies  employed 
on  the  press — I  mperson  alarms-  personal  journalism 
— Mr.  Pulitzer's  views  in  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette — 
English  and  American  practices  contrasted — Anglo 
phobia  and  Anglo-mania — The  future  prospect — 
Thurlow  Weed — Albany — Mrs.  Barnes,  .  .  .  355 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  traveller's  appreciation  of  New  York  after  journeys 
to  the  interior — Religious  denominations — The 
growth  of  Episcopalianism — Church  music  and  the 
gradual  introduction  of  boy  choirs — French  cooks 
— Joaquin  Miller — Peter  Cooper — Hotels — Cabs  and 
carriage  hire — Tiffany's — Gorham  silver  factory — 
Brentano's — The  American  and  Colonial  Exchange 
— Custom-house  officials  and  the  female  searcher — 
The  dress  question — The  theatres,  artists,  and  373 
dramatists,  .  ... 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Canada — Sleighing — Miss  Rye's  and  Miss  Macpherson's 
homes  for  English  waifs  and  strays — Occupations  for 
women — Report  of  the  Montreal  Protective  Immi 
gration  Society — Educated  women  versus  fine  ladies 
wanted  in  all  our  colonies — Agricultural  prospects 
—The  Marquis  of  Lome  on  the  Canadian  climate — 
— Lady  Gordon-Cathcart's  settlement  at  Wapella — 
— A  day  at  Niagara  Falls — American  homes — Dr. 
Charles  Phelps — Departure  from  America,  .  .  389 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


THREE   VISITS   TO   AMERICA. 


CHAPTER    I. 

First  arrival  in  America — Welcome  at  Mrs.  Laura  Curtis  Bui- 
lard's— A  Presidential  campaign — Personal  recollections  of 
Horace  Greeley — General  politics — Disinclination  of  the  best 
people  to  take  part  in  them — Cincinnati  riots  in  1884. 

"  THE  distance  between  New  York  and  London  is 
much  shorter  than  between  London  and  New  York," 
is  a  common  saying,  which  being  interpreted  means, 
that  while  English  people  find  a  voyage  to  the  United 
States  a  great  undertaking,  not  to  be  entertained  save 
for  business  purposes,  Americans  are  ready  to  start 
off  on  the  smallest  possible  excuse  at  a  day's  notice, 
and  a  "  trip  to  Europe  "  invariably  figures  among  the 
possibilities  of  the  yearly  list  of  summer  plans. 

"  I  have  crossed  the  Atlantic  twenty-seven  times," 
said  a  charming  Southern  lady  the  other  day,  just  as 
I  was  thinking  that  my  six  voyages  and  varied  experi 
ences  on  Cunard,  Inman,  and  White  Star  steamers 
entitled  me  to  consider  myself  as  "quite  an  old 
traveller!"  When  I  first  went  to  America,  twelve 
years  ago,  English  visitors  were  indeed  few  and  far 
between.  Mrs.  Trollope,  Frederika  Bremer,  Harriet 
Martineau,  Thackeray,  Charles  Dickens,  and  others, 
had  travelled  through  the  States,  and  published  their 
personal  impressions,  but  no  prophet  of  Art  had 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  preach  the  gospel  of  the  beauti- 


2  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ful ;  no  theatrical  company  with  complete  scenery  and 
properties  had  invaded  the  American  stage,  though 
solitary  "  stars "  had  occasionally  ventured  over  to 
win  the  suffrages  of  dramatic  audiences,  and  even 
English  lecturers  had  only  stormed  "  Lyceum  plat 
forms"  in  single  file;  but  that  very  season  (1872-73) 
witnessed  the  dtbut  of  Mr.  Tyndall,  Mr.  Froude,  Pro 
fessor  Huxley,  Edmund  Yates,  George  MacDonald, 
and  several  other  Britons  more  or  less  distinguished. 
Ever  since  then  the  cry  has  been,  "  Still  they  come." 
In  fact  the  influx  of  English  travellers,  artists,  actors, 
lecturers,  etc.,  has  gone  on  increasing  every  year  to 
such  an  extent  that  a  New  York  editor  last  October 
kindly. expressed  the  fear  "that  London  must  be  feel 
ing  quite  lonely,"  *  while  another  observed  in  refer 
ence  to  the  report  that  the  Baroness  Burdett  Coutts 
intended  to  visit  America,  "  Thank  fortune,  she  will 
spend  her  own  money,  as  she  will  not  be  obliged  to 
act,  sing,  lecture,  or  accept  hospitable  free  lunches  for 
support  while  she  is  here !  " 


*"  London  must  be  beginning  to  feel  lonely!  There  are  at 
present  in  the  United  States  England's  Chief  Justice,  Lord 
Coleridge ;  Monsigneur  Capel,  one  of  her  most  famous  divines  ; 
Mr.  Irving,  her  greatest  tragedian ;  Mr.  Arnold,  her  greatest 
critic  and  essayist,  and  a  very  respectable  poet ;  Mrs.  Langtry, 
the  distinguished  beauty,  and  Miss  Emily  Faithfull,  the  philan 
thropic  worker  in  the  field  of  woman's  advancement.  In  ad 
dition  to  these  we  have  a  large  number  of  poor  but  illustrious 
lords,  who  are  anxious  to  draw  closer  the  ties  that  unite  the  two 
countries  by  marrying  American  heiresses,  together  with  specu 
lators  and  capitalists  innumerable,  who  are  investing  in  mines, 
cattle  ranches,  railroads,  and  generously  helping  Mr.  Villard  to 
boom  Oregon  and  Northern  Pacific  stock.  New  York  is,  in  fact, 
becoming  a  fashionable  London  resort." 


NEW    YORK    BAY.  3 

I  first  reached  New  York  in  the  autumn  of  1872,  in 
the  early  glory  of  the  season  known  there  as  the  In 
dian  summer.  I  was  suffering  so  much  from  asthma, 
that  I  could  scarcely  appreciate  the  scene  as  we 
steamed  slowly  up  the  lovely  bay — the  clear  atmos 
phere,  and  the  blue  water  speckled  oVer  with  white 
sails.  Lowell  has  sung  of  the  rare  beauty  of  a  day  in 
June,  when 

"  'Tis  as  easy  for  the  heart  to  be  true 
As  for  grass  to  be  green  or  skies  to  be  blue — 
'Tis  the  natural  way  of  living"; 

but  I  learned  to  revel  in  those  exquisite  autumn  days, 
and  the  magnificent  aspect  of  the  woods,  on  which 
the  very  rainbows  seemed  to  have  cast  their  mantle, 
together  with  every  brilliant  hue  ever  seen  in  bird  or 
flower. 

And  how  glad  I  was  to  find  myself  once  more  upon 
the  solid  land ! 

"  A  life  on  the  ocean  wave, 
A  home  on  the  rolling  deep," 

may  be  a  very  pleasant  song  on  terra  firma,  but  few 
landsmen  are  in  a  condition  to  appreciate  it  after 
leaving  the  Mersey.  Happily  for  mankind,  a  sea  voy 
age  does  not  of  necessity  involve  such  a  painful  ex 
perience  to  every  one ;  on  me  it  brings  the  miseries 
of  asthma,  as  well  as  sea-sickness.  I  suffered  from  a 
mental  irritation  I  can  not  easily  describe,  as  one 
poetical  fiction  after  another  flitted  through  my 
tortured  brain,  the  part  most  affected,  according  to 
Sir  James  Alderson's  theory,  by  the  motion  of  the 
sea.  For  instance,  imagine  the  contrast  suggested  by 


4  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  cruel,  relentless  bufferings  experienced  through 
out  a  voyage  from  Liverpool  to  New  York,  in  which 
the  equinoctial  gales  played  their  strongest  part,  con 
stantly  upsetting  everything  in  the  state-room,  and 
once  nearly  throwing  me  out  of  my  berth,  and  that 
line  recalling  the  motherly  tenderness  enjoyed  during 
childhood — 

"Roc&edin  the  cradle  of  the  deep." 

I  felt  much  more  in  sympathy  with  an  extraordinary 
sonnet  to  the  sea  which  was  published  in  one  of  the 
leading  New  York  papers  a  few  mornings  after  my 
arrival,  commencing  "  Prodigious  dampness." 

When  I  first  landed,  as  a  stranger,  with  but  few  per 
sonal  friends  in  the  whole  country,  I  had  every  confi 
dence  in  the  kind  reception  promised  me,  but  my 
anticipations  fell  far  short  of  the  reality.  I  found 
myself  the  recipient  of  a  generous  and  never-to-be-foj- 
gotten  hospitality ;  and  I  gladly  embrace  this  oppor 
tunity  of  recording  my  heartfelt  gratitude  for  the 
universal  kindness  lavished  on  me  in  every  city  I 
visited  throughout  my  three  tours,  bringing  me  into 
direct  social  communion  with  the  leading  men  and 
women  in  America. 

On  leaving  the  steamer  I  at  once  exchanged  the 
few  square  yards  sarcastically  described  as  "a  state 
room,"  for  Mrs.  Bullard's  beautiful  home  in  East  3Qth 
Street.  This  was  made  my  "  headquarters " — my 
American  home,  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  Not 
only  was  every  personal  kindness  showered  on  me  by 
the  whole  family,  but  as  Mrs.  Bullard's  father  kept 
"  open  house,"  I  was  introduced  into  New  York  so 
ciety  in  the  pleasantest  fashion ;  not  at  stiff  crowded 


LAURA    CURTIS    BULLARD.  5 

receptions,  but  at  genial  family  dinners,  where  the 
radiators  and  reflectors  were  in  full  force,  and  absorb 
ents  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  The  house  was 
the  constant  resort  of  some  of  the  brightest  and  ablest 
American  financiers,  editors,  poets,  and  artists  from 
all  parts  of  the  country. 

To  any  one  who  associated  the  idea  of  a  literary 
woman  with  the  picture  drawn  of  "  the  strong-minded 
blue-stocking"  of  olden  days,  with  her  outre  manners, 
masculine  ways,  and  total  absence  of  all  feminine  grace, 
Mrs.  Bullard  must  indeed  have  been  a  revelation.  Al 
ways  dressed  in  exquisite  taste,  with  a  remarkably 
handsome  face,  expressive  eyes,  and  that  nameless 
charm  which  belongs  to  the  refined  and  cultivated  lady. 
Mrs.  Bullard  impressed  you  as  much  with  a  sense  of 
her  brilliant  social  qualities  as  her  intellectual  gifts, 
The  correspondent  of  several  foreign  magazines,  busy 
in  philanthropic  enterprises,  and  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  conversationalists  I  ever  met,  she  naturally 
attracted  around  her  not  only  those  interested  in  social 
and  educational  reforms,  but  the  best  elements  in  liter 
ary  and  artistic  circles.  Her  " evenings  at  home" 
reminded  me  of  the  pleasantest  gatherings  I  ever  at 
tended  at  certain  noted  houses  in  London  and  Paris, 
where  politicians  and  foreign  diplomatists,  men  of 
science,  poets,  and  wits,  were  skilfully  commingled. 

On  board  the  Oceanic  I  had  encountered  one  of  the 
strangest  individuals  I  have  yet  met  in  full  possession 
of  his  liberty.  Attired  in  a  heavy  sealskin  coat, 
George  Francis  Train  introduced  himself  to  me  by  ex 
claiming,  as  he  struck  his  heart  with  his  hand,  "  Madam, 
you  have  seen  a  Republican  and  a  Democrat,  but  in 
me  behold  an  American  citizen."  He  then  presented 


6  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

me  with  a  photograph  of  himself,  beneath  which  was 
printed,  after  his  name,  "  Future  President  of  the 
United  States,"  and  proceeded  to  inform  me  that 
directly  he  was  installed  in  the  White  House,  he  should 
demand  a  large  sum  of  money  from  the  English  Gov 
ernment  as  compensation  for  unjust  imprisonment. 
Failing  to  receive  a  cable  by  return  acceding  to  his 
claim,  it  was  his  intention  to  hang  the  English  minister 
to  a  lamp-post  at  Washington  ! 

In  the  interests  of  my  good  friend  Sir  Edward 
Thornton,  it  was  some  relief  to  ascertain  that  Mr. 
Train's  ambitious  pretensions  received  no  support 
from  hfs  countrymen ;  the  Presidential  struggle  was 
between  poor  Horace  Greeley  and  General  Grant,  and 
at  Mrs.  Bullard's  house  I  frequently  met  the  former. 
Eccentric  benevolence  was  the  first  impression  made 
by  a  personal  appearance  which  reminded  you  irre. 
sistibly  of  Dickens's  Pickwick.  His  head  was  the  large 
strong  head  of  a  self-made  man,  but  his  temperament 
was  as  impulsive  as  his  intellect  was  keen.  Like  the 
English  king  who  was  accused  "of  never  saying  a 
foolish  thing,  and  never  doing  a  wise  one,"  it  was  said 
by  many  that  Mr.  Greeley  "always  advised  well,  but 
invariably  acted  foolishly."  He  preached  hard  econ 
omy,  but  gave  away  his  money  freely  to  any  one  who 
asked  him  for  it.  There  was  something  about  him 
which  told  at  once  of  the  inward  strife  between  the 
intellectual  and  emotional,  while  a  quaint,  fascinating 
humor  ran  through  all  his  remarks  on  the  political 
contest  in  which  he  was  playing  so  conspicuous  a 
part.  He  spoke  with  unreserved  bitterness  on  the 
corruption  revealed  during  the  strife,  and  appeared  to 
have  lost  hope,  not  only  of  his  own  success,  but  of 
raising  the  general  political  tone  of  the  country. 


HORACE    GREELEY.  7 

The  Grant  and  Greeley  contest  was  said  to  be  one  of 
the  bitterest  on  record,  and  I  heard  more  than  one 
American  express  his  readiness  to  accept  "  the  con 
ditions  of  a  throne  whose  occupant  consents  to  be  an 
antiquarian  symbol,"  rather  than  the  long  train  of 
evils  which  follow  in  the  wake  of  a  Presidential  elec 
tion.  The  fame  of  hundreds  of  men  seems  the  cost 
paid  for  taking  an  active  part  in  it.  Scandals  are  un 
sparingly  raked  up,  characters  are  blackened  to  the 
everlasting  distress  of  the  victim  and  his  family,  and 
bribery  and  corruption  are  rampant.  Finally,  the 
country  for  four  years  bows  to  the  sway  of  a  man  ac 
cused  by  a  large  portion  of  it  of  being  guilty  of  every 
possible  offence  against  law  and  morality.  Even 
Lincoln  had  a  hard  time  of  it  till  his  tragical  death 
made  his  name  as  sacred  as  the  heroes  of  old.  "  Speak 
good  of  the  dead,"  says  the  heathen  maxim,  but  the 
Christians  of  the  nineteenth  century  seem  inclined  to 
speak  well  of  the  dead  only.  While  people  live  their 
defects  are  magnified  and  their  actions  misjudged.  If 
induced  to  hold  out  the  olive  branch  of  forgiveness  to 
any  one  who  has  offended,  it  is  too  often  in  the  spirit 
described  by  the  American  preacher  as  "  that  ugly  kind 
of  hedgehog  forgiveness  shot  out  like  quills."  People 
set  down  the  erring  one  before  the  blow-pipe  of  their 
indignation,  scorch  him  and  burn  his  fault  into  him, 
and  when  they  have  kneaded  him  sufficiently  with 
their  fiery  fists,  then  they  forgive  him  !  Our  forgive 
ness  is  too  often  conditional,  like  the  sick  negro's,  who 
promised  if  he  died  to  forgive  his  enemy,  adding 
quickly,  "But  if  I  gets  well  that  darkie  must  take 
care  !" 

Mr.  Greeley  committed  the  unpardonable  offence  in 


8  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  eyes  of  the  Woman's  Suffrage  supporters  of  op 
posing  their  movement ;  they  accordingly  forgot  his 
earnest  advocacy  of  the  industrial  interests  of  the  sex, 
that  he  was  the  first  to  open  New  York  journalism  to 
women  by  the  employment  of  Margaret  Fuller  on  the 
New  York  Tribune.  Bitter  were  the  reproaches  heap 
ed  on  his  devoted  head  for  "  his  persistent  and  scornful 
mockery  of  woman's  efforts  to  rise  from  the  helpless 
ness  in  which  she  was  morassed,  and  the  false  etiquette 
by  which  she  was  befogged" — to  quote  one  of  the 
singular  indictments  I  noted  at  the  time. 

The  last  evening  I  saw  Mr.  Greeley,  the  contest  was 
over,  but  the  effects  were  lasting;  family  affliction, 
too,  had  overtaken  him,  and  all  the  fibres  of  his  great 
nature  were  spent  and  quivering.  He  ended  our  con 
versation  by  assuring  me  that  if  he  knew  for  certain 
he  should  die  before  six  o'clock  the  next  morning,  he 
should  go  to  rest  happily.  Within  one  month  the 
summons  came,  and  this  remarkable  public  man,  who 
had  writhed  under  the  criticisms  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected  during  the  Presidential  campaign,  and  the 
cartoons  which  had  made  him  an  object  of  ridicule 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  passed  out  of  the 
reach  of  human  praise  or  blame. 

Then  his  country  realized  what  they  had  lost ! 
Political  opponents  as  well  as  personal  friends  poured 
praises  into  "  the  dull,  cold  ear  of  death."  Thousands 
of  men  went  to  the  hall  where  he  lay  in  state  to  take 
the  last  look  at  his  familiar  features,  and  weeping 
women  laid  immortelles  on  his  bier.  His  bitterest 
enemies  admitted  his  strict  integrity,  and  his  wonder 
ful  and  indefatigable  industry.  As  an  inflexible  foe 
of  administrative  corruption,  Mr.  Greeley's  death 


HONOR  FOR  THu.VL  CqDE.        II 

caused  an  irreparable  void  in  the  circi^  men  who  are 
and  representative  Americans.  nt  to  what 

When  shall  we  learn  the  lesson  that  whiten  are 
is  for  the  dead,  gratitude  can  only  be  for  the  living 
As  Mr.  Ruskin  tells  us,  again  and  again,  we  think  u 
enough  to  garland  the  tombstone  when  we  have  re 
fused  to  crown  the  brow.  Every  loyal  Englishman 
now  recalls  the  name  of  Prince  Albert  with  a  sincere 
regret  for  the  contemptible  hostility  shown  him  during 
his  lifetime.  We  had  indeed  no  cause  to  be  proud 
of  the  foreign  element  previously  introduced  into  the 
families  of  English  sovereigns.  The  nation  still  re 
membered  the  fanatical  husband  of  Mary  and  the 
drunken  partner  of  Anne,  and  it  deliberately  shut  its 
eyes  to  the  virtues  of  the  really  good  man  Queen 
Victoria  had  chosen  as  her  consort,  till  on  a  gloomy 
December  day  the  news  of  his  death  was  flashed 
through  the  Kingdom.  Then  people  realized  that 
what  the  word  Duty  had  been  to  Arthur  the  Great, 
Progress  was  to  Albert  the  Good ;  that  he  had  indeed 
refrained  from  making  his  high  place  the  vantage- 
ground  of  either  pleasure  or  "  winged  ambitions,"  but 
had— 

"  Through  all  this  tract  of  years, 
Worn  the  white  flower  of  a  blameless  life, 
Before  a  thousand  peering  littlenesses, 
In  that  fierce  light  which  beats  upon  a  throne, 
And  blackens  every  blot." 

How  much  wiser  and  nobler,  amid  the  tumult  and 
strife  of  life,  to  listen  for  the  voices  and  watch  for 
the  lamps  which  God  has  toned  and  lighted  to  charm 
and  guide  us,  instead  of  waiting  to  learn  their  sweet- 


THREE    VIST" 

.SITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  eyes  of  the  W 


posing  their  p--neir  sllence   and   their  IJ&ht   b7  tneir 

earnest  adv 

that  he  •  ca^  ^e  *n  America  is  at  a  low  ebb,  owing  to 

wptv  disinclination  of  the  best  section  of  society  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  it.  "  You  can't  touch  poli 
tics  here  and  remain  uncorrupted,"  has  been  frequent 
ly  said  to  me  by  those  who  are  content  to  stand  pas 
sively  by,  while  a  crowd  of  wire-pullers  and  profes 
sional  politicians  fight  for  place  and  spoil. 

During  the  last  two  years,  however,  some  young 
men  of  the  best  families  have  awakened  to  a  sense  of 
their  individual  responsibility  with  regard  to  public 
matters,  and  have  organized  a  club  with  the  view  of 
encouraging  an  active  participation  in  political  move 
ments.  How  much  remains  to  be  done  can  not  be 
doubted  by  any  one  who  has  carefully  read  American 
newspapers  for  a  few  months.  I  have  made  many  ex 
tracts  on  this  subject.  As  an  example  of  the  opinion 
of  the  leading  papers,  I  will  quote  the  following  sen 
tence  from  an  article  in  a  New  York  daily,  which 
boldly  asserts  that  "  many  public  offices  are  filled  by 
notoriously  unfit  persons,  foisted  into  place  by  the 
worst  elements  that  infect  municipal  politics."  By 
others  the  scandals  caused  by  the  extravagances  of 
the  City  Fathers  and  Aldermen  are  denounced  in  no 
measured  terms  ;  the  Boston  Herald,  for  example,  de 
claring  that  "  some  members  of  the  late  City  Council 
ate  and  drank  more  at  trie  city's  expense  in  one  year 
than  they  ever  did  at  their  own  cost  in  ten."  The 
Chicago  Tribune,  in  speaking  of  the  defective  criminal 
code  and  consequent  miscarriage  of  justice,  says  : 
"  The  state  laws,  as  a  rule,  provide  for  ignorant  and 
vicious  juries  ;  but  two  classes  under  present  practice 


.NAL    CODE.  I  I 

composed  of  men  who  are 
V\fad  or  too  indifferent  to  what 
1O  .nemselves  posted;  such  men  are 

only  by  ^ighing  evidence  nor  of  appreciating 
l^          \         .ociety.     The  other  class  is  composed  of 
in   active   sympathy  with  the  criminal 


.nd  are  always  prepared  to  perjure  themselves 
Aecting  sufficient   ignorance  to   qualify  for  jury 


In  the  one  case  society  is  the  victim  of  ig 
norance,  and  in  the  other  the  victim  of  perjury.  The 
law  must  be  remodelled  in  such  a  manner  as  not 
merely  to  admit,  but  to  require,  the  service  of  the 
most  reputable  and  intelligent  citizens  as  jurors  in 
criminal  cases."  The  criminal  laws  were  evidently 
framed  more  for  the  escape  of  the  offender  than  the 
protection  of  the  public,  and  they  have  naturally 
served  to  further  the  selfish  interests  of  unscrupulous 
lawyers  rather  than  to  provide  for  the  punishment  of 
crime.  The  people  have  at  last  almost  despaired  of 
obtaining  protection  of  life  and  property  through  the 
courts,  for  in  vain  have  these  abuses  been  protested 
against  by  intelligent  citizens  and  denounced  by  the 
Press,  and  however  lamentable,  it  is  scarcely  surpris 
ing  that  the  temptation  to  Lynch  law  has  been  in 
some  cases  irresistible. 

Of  course  there  is  imperfection  everywhere,  in  re 
publics  as  well  as  monarchies  :  if  we  wait  till  angels 
administer  government,  most  countries  would  have  a 
long  interregnum  !  But  it  is  clear  to  those  who  love 
America,  and  appreciate  its  boundless  possibilities  for 
good  or  evil,  that  one  of  the  sacrifices  imperatively 
demanded  of  those  who  value  their  nation's  well- 
being  is  time  given  up  to  public  matters  from  per- 


I  2  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

sonal  money-getting,  pleasure,  or  even  culture.  As 
long  as  the  aristocracy  of  wealth  and  culture  shrink 
from  political  life,  or  are  too  much  absorbed  in  their 
own  interests  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  citizenship,  so 
long  will  power  be  in  the  hands  of  unscrupulous 
leaders,  to  the  detriment  of  all  concerned.  Our  Euro 
pean  aristocracies  can  not  divest  themselves  of  their 
responsibilities,  and  those  who  are  in  high  positions 
in  a  republic  have  an  equally  grave  task  imposed  upon 
them ;  they  are  their  brother's  keeper,  whether  they 
acknowledge  it  or  no ;  and  if  no  effort  is  made  to  ful 
fil  just  obligations,  retribution  may  follow  when  least 
expected. 

"  The  gods  are  just,  and  of  our  pleasant  vices 
Make  instruments  to  scourge  us." 

Mr.  Wallis  Mackay,  who  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the 
City  of  Rome  when  I  made  my  last  visit  to  America, 
shortly  after  his  arrival,  visited  under  police  protec 
tion,  some  of  those  terrible  haunts  in  New  York  an 
swering  to  the  dens  of  "  the  outcast  poor  "  in  London. 
"  Why,"  he  asked,  "  are  such  vile  places  allowed  to 
exist  ? "  The  patrol  replied,  "  For  the  rents,  of 
course ;  and  then,  too,  the  votes  are  important." 
There  is  a  terrible  undercurrent  seething  already  in 
the  hearts  of  the  poorer  classes,  and  the  envious  self 
ishness  of  poverty  is  rising  up  in  natural  reaction 
against  the  ostentatious  selfishness  of  wealth.  Two 
Americans  were  walking  on  Fifth  Avenue  last  winter, 
and  discussing  this  very  subject.  "  Look  there,"  said 
one,  pointing  to  the  palace  of  a  well-known  million 
aire,  "  I  should  never  be  surprised  to  see  a  riot  in  front 
of  that  house." 


THE    CINCINNATI    RIOTS.  13 

Many  thoughtful  men  regarded  the  terrible  three 
days  which  took  place  in  Cincinnati  last  March  as  the 
"  fruition  of  as  many  decades  of  political  and  moral 
degeneracy."  The  better  element  in  Cincinnati  has 
now  learnt,  by  an  exceptionally  bitter  experience,  that 
public  duties  can  not  be  shirked  without  absoluted  an 
ger.  Every  effort  must  be  made  to  purify  municipal 
government  by  selecting,  without  reference  to  politi 
cal  views,  men  of  irreproachable  integrity  and  un 
doubted  qualifications  for  offices  of  trust  and  respon 
sibility.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  other  cities  will  take 
the  lesson  to  heart,  without  waiting  to  have  the  con 
sequences  of  similar  neglect  burnt  into  their  very 
souls  by  so  fatal  an  experience.  When  this  is  done, 
dangerous  agitations  will  be  less  frequent,  and  the 
cherished  rights  of  life  and  property  will  be  duly  re 
spected  in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Reception  at  Steinway  Hall — The  Sorosis  Club — Mrs.  Croly — 
Miss  Mary  L.  Booth — Louise  Chandler  Moulton — Clergy- 
women — Dr.  Mary  Putnam-Jacobi — Harper's  printing-office 
— Riverside  Press  at  Cambridge,  Mass. — Women  printers  and 
the  Victoria  Press — Queen  Victoria's  views  on  women's 
spheres — Mr.  Gladstone  on  monopolies — Messrs.  Young,  Ladd 
&  Coffin's  manufactory  of  Lunborg's  Perfumes — Mrs.  Stanton 
and  Susan  B.  Anthony — Hon.  Gerrit  Smith  at  Peterboro — 
Winter  travelling  in  America — Mrs.  Parke  Godwin  and  an 
Art  reception. 

AN  American  paper  remarked  that  when  I  returned 
to  England  and  was  asked  what  most  struck  me  with 
wonder  and  pleasure  in  the  United  States,  I  could 
reply,  promptly  and  truthfully,  "  The  superb  recep 
tion  given  me  at  Steinway  Hall,"  for,  it  continued, 
"  no  such  demonstration  has  hitherto  been  witnessed 
on  this  continent." 

I  certainly. shall  ever  remember  with  grateful  pride 
the  kind  recognition  I  received  that  night,  when  every 
face  on  that  crowded  platform  belonged  to  some  one 
known  to  fame,  and  the  body  of  the  hall  itself  was 
packed  from  floor  to  ceiling  "  with  as  notable  an 
audience  as  ever  gathered  within  its  walls."  The  pro 
gramme  of  the  Reception  Committee  is  a  record  of 
the  representative  ladies  of  New  York,  all  eminent  in 
literature,  art,  science,  and  industry.  As  it  indicates 
the  professional  revolution  of  the  last  decade,  it  must 
have  a  place  in  these  reminiscences. 
(14) 


REPRESENTATIVE    LADIES.  15 

Journalists. 

Miss  Mary  Booth,  Editor  of  Harper 's  Bazaar. 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Dodge,  Editor  of  Hearth  and  Home. 
Mrs.  Croly,  Editor  of  Demoresfs  Monthly. 

A  uthors. 

Mrs.  E.  D.  R.  Stoddart.  Mrs.  Mary  Bradley. 

Miss  Virginia  Townsend. 

Artists. 

Mrs.  Eliza  Greatorex.  Mrs.  Carter. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Murray,  Principal  of  School  of  Design, 
C.I. 

Physicians. 

Mrs.  C.  S.  Lozier,  M.D. 
Miss  Sarah  E.  Furnas,  M.D. 
Mrs.  S.  M.  Ellis,  M.D. 

Dramatic  and  Musical. 
Mrs.  Edwin  Booth.  Mrs.  Van  Zandt. 

Miss  Antoinette  Sterling.  Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogp1. 

S^  O  OO 

Miss  M.  A.  Simens. 

Engravers. 

Miss  Charlotte  B.  Coggswell, 

(Principal  of  the  School  of  Engraving,  C.I.) 

Miss  S.  F.  Fuller. 

Industrial. 

Madame  Bussonie,  Forewoman  at  Arnold,  Constable 
&  Co.'s 

Mrs.  Rampden,  Supt.  of  Ladies'  Department,  Lord  & 
Taylor. 

Miss  Mary  Moore,  President  of  the  Women's  Typo 
graphical  Union. 

Miss  Snow,  Professor  of  Telegraphy. 


1 6  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Associate  Ladies. 

Mrs.  F.  Bryant  Godwin.     Mrs.  Jonathan  Sturgis. 
Mrs.  Abram  S.  Hewitt.      Mrs.  O.  B.  Frothingham. 
Mrs.  E.  L.  Youmans.          Mrs.  Henry  M.  Field. 
Mrs.  Laura  Curtis  Bullard. 

Such  a  committee  naturally  brought  together  a 
representative  gathering,  unique  in  its  character,  and 
graceful  alike  in  its  recognition  of  woman's  work  and 
English  effort.  Long  before  the  hour  that  huge  build 
ing  was  completely  filled  ;  there  were  even  people  in 
the  dreary  haunt  of  the  gods — the  upper  gallery, — 
and  many  stood  throughout  the  evening,  being  una 
ble  to  obtain  sitting  room  in  any  part  of  the  hall. 

Never  shall  I  forget  my  feelings  as  I  threaded  my 
way  across  the  crowded  platform,  just  as  Miss  Toedt 
commenced  a  solo  on  the  violin.  After  this  Mrs.  Van 
Zandt  sang  "  Waiting,"  and  Miss  Antoinette  Sterling 
closed  the  evening's  proceedings  by  singing  "  A  man's 
a  man  for  a'  that,"  and  evoked  the  greatest  enthusi 
asm.  Mrs.  Henry  Field,  who  occupied  the  chair, 
gave  me  a  formal  and  generous  welcome,  and  then 
spoke  at  length  on  the  dignity  of  labor,  claiming 
that  the  woman  who  supports  herself  is  entitled  to 
ascend  in  the  social  as  she  does  in  the  moral  scale ; 
not  to  be  pitied  or  patronized,  but  to  be  respected  for 
her  spirit  of  independence.  No  law  can  secure  her 
such  respect,  no  decree  of  a  court  of  justice  can  fix 
her  social  position,  it  must  be  freely  accorded  by 
society  as  a  homage  to  her  true  womanly  dignity. 
The  world  makes  an  exception  for  the  woman  of 
genius,  and  if  by  voice,  pen  or  pencil  she  adds  to  its 
pleasures,  it  throws  at  her  feet  crowns  of  flowers  and 


STEINWAY    HALL    RECEPTION.  IJ 

harvests  of  gold.  "  Why  is  it,"  naturally  asks  Mrs. 
Field,  "  that  the  thought  of  a  lady  working  for  money 
in  any  other  sphere — even  that  of  the  teacher,  so  im 
portant  to  the  family  and  society — is  still  so  reluc 
tantly  accepted  ?  To  work,  and  to  work  for  pay,  is  no 
disgrace.  A  woman  who  feels  an  inspiration  can  not 
work  without  an  object,  merely  to  kill  time."  Genius, 
and  even  talent,  is  given  to  few,  and  the  idea  that 
brain-work  is  alone  fitted  for  a  lady  compelled  to  work 
has  made  shipwreck  of  the  life  and  happiness  of  many 
women.  Naturally  they  shrink  from  vocations,  fool 
ishly  made  a  badge  of  social  inferiority. 

Mrs.  Field  made  an  eloquent  appeal  to  all  present 
"to  avoid  an  idle,  aimless  life,  dependence  upon 
friends,  or,  what  is  worse,  marriage  to  escape  work  or 
to  gain  a  position.  If  you  can  not  work  with  your 
brains,"  she  continued,  "  work  with  your  hands, — 
bravely,  openly,  keeping  your  self-respect  and  inde 
pendence.  Work  was  never  meant  to  be  a  curse  or  a 
shame ;  it  is  the  surest  element  of  growth  and  happi 
ness.  Better  be  a  good  dressmaker  than  a  bad  teacher 
or  weak  writer  for  magazines.  With  women  rests 
the  power  to  right  their  sex  from  an  absurd  prejudice, 
and  those  possessed  of  wealth,  talent,  or  position 
should  never  fail  to  recognize,  with  real  sympathy,  the 
honest  worker,  however  humble." 

When  this  address  was  concluded,  I  was  called  upon 
to  speak  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  movement  in 
England  ;  and  as  I  rose  and  received  from  that  sig 
nificant  audience  a  welcome  as  overpowering  as  it  was 
gratifying,  only  those  can  imagine  my  feelings  who 
have  themselves  stood  before  some  vast  assembly  in 
a  foreign  land,  conscious  alike  of  personal  shortcom- 


15  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ings  and  responsibility.  I  endeavored  to  describe  the 
change  which  has  taken  place  in  England  during  the 
last  fifty  years,  machinery  having  effected  a  complete 
revolution  in  our  domestic  economy,  taking  woman's 
work,  in  the  lower  branches  of  industry,  out  of  the 
home  into  the  manufactory;  the  increasing  number 
of  educated  ladies  desiring  remunerative  employment, 
some  as  a  means  whereby  to  live,  others  to  satisfy  a 
higher  craving,  alluding  to  those  who  fail  to  find  rest 
for  their  souls  in  an  endless  round  of  unsatisfying 
amusements.  I  freely  acknowledged  that  if  the  leaders 
of  the  movement  measured  the  result  of  past  efforts 
by  the  number  of  fresh  avenues  already  opened,  I 
thought  we  should  have  little  cause  for  congratula 
tion  ;  but  when  we  estimated  the  changed  tone  of 
public  opinion  in  regard  to  these  matters,  there  seemed 
no  reason  to  regret  the  earnest  work  and  patient 
waiting,  for  at  last  the  co-operation  of  the  general 
public  had  been  obtained,  and  this  is  a  most  important 
step  toward  the  true  solution  of  this  difficult  and 
delicate  problem. 

Another  notable  gathering  took  place  about  the 
same  time  at  Delmonico's,  when  I  sat  down  with  two 
hundred  ladies  in  the  large  dining-hall  of  this  popu 
lar  restaurant — the  guest  of  the  Sorosis  Club.  The 
Sorosis  was  the  first  woman's  club  formed  in  New 
York.  It  was  organized  in  1869,  to  promote  "mental 
activity  and  pleasant  social  intercourse,"  and  in  spite 
of  a  severe  fire  of  hostile  criticism  and  misrepresenta 
tion,  it  has  evinced  a  sturdy  vitality,  and  really 
demonstrated  its  right  to  exist  by  a  large  amount  of 
beneficent  work.  Miss  Alice  Gary  was  its  first  presi 
dent,  but  ill-health  soon  compelled  her  to  resign  the 


SOROSIS.  19 

office ;  its  earliest  list  of  members  included  38  ladies 
engaged  in  literature,  6  editors,  12  poets,  6  musicians, 
25  authors,  2  physicians,  4  professors,  2  artists,  9 
teachers,  10  lecturers,  I  historian,  I  scientific  author, 
and  a  host  of  smaller  lights.  These  ladies  pledged 
themselves  to  work  for  the  release  of  women  from 
the  disabilities  which  debar  them  from  a  due  partici 
pation  in  the  rewards  of  industrial  and  professional 
labor — in  short,  to  promote  all  that  is  brave,  noble, 
and  true  in  the  sex.  Some  people  still  ask,  "What 
has  Sorosis  done  ? "  I  believe  it  has  been  the  step 
ping-stone  to  useful  public  careers,  and  the  source  of 
inspiration  to  many  ladies.  Anyhow  it  has  proved 
that  women  are  not  destitute  of  the  power  of  acting 
harmoniously  together,  but  can  tolerate  differences, 
respect  devotion  to  principle,  and  meet  on  higher 
ground  than  that  of  mere  personal  liking  or  identity 
of  social  clique.  Miss  Frances  Power  Cobbe  and  I 
were  elected  during  the  first  year  honorary  foreign 
members,  and  duly  presented  with  the  insignia  worn 
by  the  sisterhood.  At  the  Sorosis  monthly  social 
meetings,  after  luncheon,  papers  are  read  on  all  kinds 
of  subjects,  and  discussions  follow  which  elicit 
various  opinions,  and  the  president  then  sums  up  the 
arguments  that  have  been  advanced,  and  pronounces 
her  verdict  thereon.  Mrs.  Croly,  who  has  held  this 
office  for  the  last  four  years,  is  particularly  happy 
in  this  branch  of  her  duty,  always  casting  some  new 
and  practical  light  on  the  subject  under  discussion. 
This  lady  is  perhaps  best  known  under  her  nom  de 
plume,  "Jennie  June."  She  is  not  only  the  pre 
siding  genius  of  Demorcsfs  Monthly,  but  sends 
throughout  the  American  press  spirited  newspaper 


2O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

letters,  not  simply  on  matters  of  grave  importance, 
but  on  topics  of  dress  and  fashion  so  dear  to  the 
heart  of  the  sex — even  the  strong-minded  contingent ! 
Mrs.  Croly's  weekly  reunions  in  her  pleasant  home  in 
East  7 1st  Street  attract  all  literary  and  artistic  New- 
Yorkers,  and  most  of  the  notable  strangers  passing 
through  the  city. 

Not  less  delightful  are  Miss  Booth's  "Saturday 
evenings,"  when,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  her 
large  circle  of  friends,  she  and  Miss  Wright  keep 
"  open  house."  The  rare  judgment  displayed  by 
this  accomplished  woman  as  the  editor  of  Harper  s 
Bazaar  has  made  that  paper  one  of  the  best  of  its 
kind,  and  a  valuable  source  of  income  to  its  pro 
prietors.  She  is  a  fine  German  scholar,  and  first  made 
her  mark  by  her  translations.  Like  Mrs.  Croly,  day  in 
and  day  out,  Miss  Booth  is  to  be  found  in  her  edi 
torial  room  in  the  publisher's  office  ;  both  ladies  com 
bine  business  talent  with  literary  skill  and  culture, 
and  know  how  to  return  "rejected  manuscripts"  with 
kind,  encouraging  words  that  soften  the  aspirant's 
disappointment.  Louise  Chandler  Moulton,  whose 
friendship  I  fortunately  made  at  this  early  stage  of 
my  American  tour,  is,  on  the  other  hand,  purely  intel 
lectual  ;  her  delightful  letters  on  all  kinds  of  literary 
and  social  subjects  and  foreign  travel,  over  the  signa 
ture  L.  C.  M.,  are  deservedly  prized,  and  have  a  high 
market  value.  Her  stories  for  children  prove  her 
title  to  one  of  the  rarest  gifts  in  literature ;  she  is 
also  a  poetess,  a  veritable  singer,  whose  "  songs  spring 
from  the  heart  " — full  of  delicate  fancies,  glowing 
with  fervor  and  unrivalled  in  grace  of  expression. 
Her  volume  entitled  "  Swallow  Flights "  lies  in  a 


CLERGY  WOMEN.  21 

treasured  nook  near  at  hand,  but  I  dare  not  single  out 
the  favorite  poems — they  are  too  numerous. 

At  Sorosis  I  made  my  first  acquaintance  with  a 
clergy  woman  ^ — a  new  departure  indeed  to  one  reared 
in  all  the  prejudices  of  English  Episcopalianism.  The 
venerable  Lucretia  Mott  and  other  ladies  had  often 
preached ;  Mrs.  Van  Cott  had  occupied  Methodist 
pulpits ;  but  the  Rev.  Olympia  Brown  and  the  Rev. 
Celia  Burleigh  were  regularly  ordained  clergywomen, 
and  many  others  have  since  followed  in  their  lead. 
Mrs.  Burleigh  belonged  to  the  Unitarian  denomina 
tion,  and  it  was  the  dying  wish  of  her  husband  that 
she  should  devote  herself  to  the  ministry.  On  the 
day  of  her  ordination  the  village  church  was  decked 
with  flowers  ;  a  large  cross  of  autumn  leaves  decorated 
the  back  of  the  pulpit,  and  on  the  front  of  it  was 
placed  a  heart  formed  of  exquisite  tube  and  tea  roses. 
The  Rev.  Phcebe  Hanaford  opened  the  service  with 
prayer;  the  Rev.  John  A.  Chadwick  preached  from 
Matt.  xvi.  19,  "The  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven," 
and  during  his  sermon  claimed  that  to  further  God's 
work  on  earth  they  had  "assembled  to  ordain  this 
woman."  The  ordination  prayer  was  pronounced  by 
the  Rev.  W.  P.  Tilden,  and  the  Rev.  W.  T.  Potter 
gave  the  charge.  A  letter  was  read  from  the  Rev. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  regretting  his  enforced  absence, 
and  offering  Mrs.  Burleigh  "  the  right  hand  of  fellow 
ship  in  the  Christian  ministry,"  stating  his  belief  that 
there  are  "  elements  of  the  gospel  which  a  woman 
can  bring  out  far  more  successfully  than  a  man  can." 
Certainly  it  must  be  admitted  that  women  are  natu 
rally  reverent,  spiritual-minded,  and  inclined  to  faith. 
Throughout  the  world  women  form  the  bulk  of  church 


22  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

organizations,  and  are  the  chief  attendants  at  its  ser 
vices.  Some  regard  them  as  "  the  custodians  of 
religion  ";  and  therefore  if  a  chosen  few  feel  inclined 
to  embrace  the  clerical  calling,  perhaps  it  would  be 
better  to  dismiss  our  prejudices,  and  allow  them  to 
preach  the  gospel  of  glad  tidings  in  an  official  capacity. 
Mrs.  Burleigh  remained  for  some  years  with  the  con 
gregation  which  installed  her  as  its  duly  authorized 
minister,  but  she  has  now  been  called  upon  to  render 
an  account  of  her  stewardship  to  One  who  is  no 
respecter  of  sex  or  persons. 

Among  the  first  women  physicians  who  interest 
ed  me  I  must  name  Dr.  Mary  Putnam-Jacobi,  the 
daughter  of  the  well-known  publisher,  in  whose  com 
pany  I  spent  a  most  agreeable  day  while  visiting 
some  of  the  charitable  institutions  in  New  York  with 
the  members  of  the  Acadian  Club.  During  an  excur 
sion  up  the  East  River,  a  very  amusing  incident  took 
place.  The  trip  was  organized  in  honor  of  Mr.  Froude 
as  well  as  myself,  and  it  included  an  impromptu  visit 
to  the  school-ship  Mercury,  which  was  anchored  off 
Hart's  Island.  Captain  Giraud  was  taken  much  by 
surprise  at  the  unexpected  signal ;  to  fire  a  gun  and 
have  the  boys  out  on  parade  was  the  wo-rk  of  a 
moment,  but  to  "  place  his  guests,"  and  distinguish 
between  their  names,  was  quite  another  affair.  He 
mixed  them  up  quite  as  hopelessly  as  Buttercup  in 
The  Pinafore  mixed  up  the  babies,  and  proceeded  to 
introduce  me  to  the  officers  as  Mrs.  Froude,  and  Mr. 
Froude  as  Mr.  Faithfull,  to  the  overwhelming  confu 
sion  of  the  historian,  who  had  left  a  wife  at  home, 
and  had  no  intention  of  starting  another  Mrs.  Froude 
in  America. 


WOMEN    PHYSICIANS.  23 

At  the  time  I  speak  of,  Miss  Putnam,  who  was  un 
married,  was  the  frequent  guest  of  one  of  my  oldest 
and  most  valued  friends,  Miss  Kate  Hillard,  of  Brook 
lyn,  with  whom  I  was  also  staying.  Many  lady  doc 
tors  have  now  won  their  way  to  splendid  positions, — • 
some  are  earning  from  10,000  to  20,000  dollars  a 
year  ;  but  medical  men  freely  acknowledge  that  Dr. 
Mary  Putnam-Jacobi  would  be  regarded,  "  even  as  a 
man,"  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the 
profession.  Her  diploma  was  obtained  in  Paris,  and 
one  of  her  ablest  publications  is  an  article  contributed 
to  the  New  York  Medical  Journal  respecting  her  ob 
servations  in  the  Paris  hospitals  during  the  siege  of 
that  city.  She  won  there  a  prize  in  the  shape  of  a 
medal  in  the  French  Ecole  de  Medicine,  and  has 
recently  published  a  book  which  has  become  an  ac 
cepted  authority  on  the  diseases  dealt  with.  I  am 
told  pathology  is  her  strong  point,  and  perhaps  this 
is  the  most  intricate  branch  of  the  healing  science. 

It  may  be  noted  here  that  the  first  medical  college 
for  women  was  opened  at  Boston  in  1848,  when 
twelve  valiant  women  ventured  to  brave  the  ridicule 
that  assailed  the  movement.  Miss  Blackwell — Eng 
lish  by  birth — had  already  graduated  from  Geneva 
College,  and  was  then  the  only  woman  with  a  diplo 
ma  in  the  States.  To-day  there  are  numbers  prac 
ticing  medicine  with  more  or  less  of  a  degree,  but  I 
have  Dr.  Putnam-Jacobi's  authority  for  stating,  that 
while  in  1882  we  had  19  registered  women  practition 
ers  in  England,  there  are  more  than  400  qualified  lady 
doctors  in  America.  An  excellent  article,  asking, 
"  Shall  women  practice  medicine  ?  "  will  be  found  in 
the  North  American  Review  (January,  1882),  in  which 


24  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Dr.  Putnam-Jacobi  combats  the  prejudice  which  still 
exists  in  some  circles  even  in  "  the  land  of  the  free." 

A  visit  to  Messrs.  Harpers'  celebrated  printing- 
office  in  Franklin  Square  was  a  great  treat  to  me.  I 
felt  at  home  as  I  stood  in  their  composing-rooms 
watching  the  bright,  industrious  girls  at  case,  setting 
up  type  with  expedition  and  accuracy.  It  reminded 
me  of  the  days  when  my  own  Victoria  Press  strug 
gled  into  an  existence  that  had  an  effect  far  beyond 
its  own  little  immediate  centre,  and  fortunately  se 
cured  the  Queen's  approval,  and  drew  from  Her 
Majesty  not  only  a  personal  warrant,  as  a  mark  of 
her  satisfaction  with  work  executed  for  her,  but  the 
most  gracious  expression  of  cordial  interest  in  the 
opening  of  all  new  and  appropriate  industries  to 
women,  further  informing  me  that  Mr.  Woodward, 
recently  appointed  librarian,  had  employed  ladies,  at 
the  Queen's  suggestion,  to  aid  him  in  making  out  a 
catalogue  of  Her  Majesty's  books. 

A  visit  to  Harvard  a  few  weeks  later  was  still  more 
gratifying,  when  Mr.  Houghton,  one  of  the  proprie 
tors  of  the  Riverside  Press,  took  me  over  that  vast 
establishment.  The  composing-room  is  ninety  feet 
long,  the  walls  were  adorned  with  engravings,  the 
window-sills  bright  with  flowers,  embellishments  said 
to  be  due  to  "  refining  feminine  influence."  The  men 
and  women  were  working  side  by  side ;  and  Mr. 
Houghton  spoke  in  glowing  terms,  not  so  much  of 
the  work  done  by  nimble  feminine  fingers,  but  of  the 
moral  effect  of  the  women's  presence  there.  Bad 
language  and  bad  habits  had  been  banished,  and  he 
declared  it  was  impossible  to  overrate  the  good 
achieved,  adding,  that  in  the  mere  interests  of  busi- 


WOMEN    COMPOSTTORS.  25 

ness  nothing  would  induce  him  for  the  future  to  let 
the  men  and  women  work  in  separate  rooms.  This 
Press  is  justly  esteemed  one  of  the  model  printing- 
offices  in  America.  It  reminded  me  of  the  good  old 
days  when  the  printer  was  always  a  scholar.  The 
heads  of  the  departments  were  college  men,  Harvard, 
Yale,  and  Williams  being  all  represented  in  the  count 
ing-office.  On  concluding  the  tour  of  inspection, 
Mr.  Houghton  reminded  me  of  a  visit  he  had  paid  to 
my  London  printing  establishment,  adding  that  the 
idea  of  introducing  women  compositors  into  his  own 
office  had  been  due  to  what  he  had  seen  and  heard 
at  thj  Victoria  Press.  Then,  indeed,  I  felt  amply 
repaid  for  the  anxieties  attending  my  early  efforts  in 
this  direction,  for  I  realized  that  not  only  had  they 
helped  English  girls,  but  influenced  the  fate  of  their 
American  sisters  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is 
true  that  here  and  there  women  had  gained  a  footing 
in  printing-offices  before  this.  It  is  even  said  that 
the  original  document  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  was  printed  by  a  lady,  one  Mary  Catherine 
Goddard.  Penelope  Russell  succeeded  her  husband 
in  printing  The  Censor  at  Boston  in  1771  ;  and  it  is 
recorded  that  she  not  only  set  type  rapidly  at  case, 
but  often  would  set  up  short  sketches  without  any 
copy  at  all,  "  a  feat  of  memory,"  says  the  American 
newspaper  reporter,  "  rivalling  those  attributed  to 
Bret  Harte  while  on  the  Pacific  coast."  Mrs.  Jane 
Atkin,  of  Boston,  was  also  noted  in  1802  as  a  thorough 
printer  and  most  accurate  proof-reader.  Several 
English  solitary  cases  might  be  cited,  and  one  or  two 
attempts — notably  at  M'Corquodale's  printing-offices 
— had  been  made  on  a  small  scale  previous  to  the 


26  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

opening  of  the  Victoria  Press.  But  when  I  first  at 
tempted  to  introduce  women  as  compositors,  it  was 
still  no  easy  matter  to  overcome  the  opposition  of 
the  trades-union.  As  Mr.  Gladstone  said  in  his  speech 
on  monopolies,  "The  printer's  monopoly  is  a  power 
ful  combination,  which  has  for  its  first  principle  that 
no  woman  shall  be  employed — for  reasons  obvious 
enough — viz.,  that  women  are  admirably  suited  for 
that  trade,  having  a  niceness  of  touch  which  would 
enable  them  to  handle  type  better  than  men."  The 
Victoria  Press  was  opened  in  1860  in  the  face  of  a 
determined  opposition,  and  I  was  only  able  to  make 
a  success  of  what  was  deemed  by  many  "  a  rasji  ex 
periment,"  thanks  to  the  liberal  support  accorded  by 
friends  who  appreciated  the  difficulties  raised  by  those 
who  tried  to  check  the  movement  by  every  means  in 
their  power.  The  opposition  was  not  only  directed 
against  the  capitalist,  but  the  girl  apprentices  were 
subjected  to  all  kinds  of  annoyance.  Tricks  of  a 
most  unmanly  nature  were  resorted  to,  their  frames 
and  stools  were  covered  with  ink  to  destroy  their 
dresses  unawares,  the  letters  were  mixed  up  in  their 
boxes,  and  the  cases  were  emptied  of  "  sorts."  The 
men  who  were  induced  to  come  into  the  office  to 
work  the  presses  and  teach  the  girls,  had  to  assume 
false  names  to  avoid  detection,  as  the  printers'  union 
forbade  their  aiding  the  obnoxious  scheme.  Even 
toward  the  close  of  1879,  m  response  for  an  extra 
hand  to  fulfil  pressing  orders,  the  Secretary  of  the 
London  Society  of  Compositors  stated  that  "  unless 
an  assurance  could  be  given  that  the  said  compositor 
would  not  be  called  on  to  assist  the  females  in  any 
way,"  no  Society  man  could  be  sent ;  and  a  resolu- 


WOMEN    AS    PERFUMERY-MAKERS.  2j 

tion  was  passed  by  that  Society  to  the  effect  "  that 
no  man  belonging  to  it  should  touch  work  in  any 
way  handled  by  women,"  and  the  members  were 
ordered  to  leave  any  office  directly  it  was  "  discovered 
that  women  wrere  employed  as  type-setters."  Never 
theless,  after  some  years  of  work  and  anxiety,  and  a 
serious  loss  of  money,  in  spite  of  foes  without  and 
traitors  within,  property  purposely  destroyed,  and 
machinery  wantonly  injured,  the  little  bark  was 
steered  through  the  natural  and  artificial  perils  by 
which  it  was  surrounded,  and,  after  an  existence  of 
twenty  years,  it  accomplished  the  work  for  which  it 
was  specially  designed,  for  compositors  were  drafted 
from  it  into  other  printing-offices,  and  the  business 
has  been  practically  opened  to  women. 

Another  scene  of  female  industry  interested  me 
greatly  in  New  York.  Mr.  Rimmel  claims  to  have 
been  the  first  to  have  employed  women  in  England 
on  a  large  scale  in  the  manufacture  of  perfumes,  and 
Messrs.  Young,  Ladd  &  Coffin,  the  makers  of  Lun- 
borg's  exquisite  perfumes  and  Rhenish  Cologne,  are 
entitled  to  the  same  honor  in  America.  "  The  rich 
man's  luxury  is  the  poor  man's  bread  "  ;  if  scent  must 
rank  as  a  luxury,  it  certainly  is  one  which  affords  work 
for  thousands.  But  it  is  more  than  that,  it  is  a  sani 
tary  agent  as  well,  and  an  adjunct  to  the  refinements 
of  life  with  which  a  high  civilization  can  not  dispense. 
In  Messrs.  Young,  Ladd  &  Coffin's  establishment  in 
Broadway  I  found  a  large  number  of  women  em 
ployed  in  the  bottling/ corking,  and  labelling  of  the 
dainty  perfumes  manufactured  there,  and  which  not 
only  hold  their  own  in  America  against  the  scents  im 
ported  from  old-established  European  laboratories, 


28  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

but  are  rapidly  becoming  popular  with  us  in  England, 
thanks  to  the  enterprise  of  the  well-known  American 
chemists  on  Snow  Hill,  Messrs.  Burroughs  &  Well 
come,  who  have  introduced  them  here,  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales  has  singled  out  "  The  Edenia"  as  one  of  his 
favorite  perfumes.  Its  delicacy  and  exquisite  odor  is 
not  to  be  surpassed.  The  marvellous  fragrance  of 
American  flowers  can  not  fail  to  impress  the  English 
traveller,  but  efforts  to  cultivate  them  on  flower-farms 
for  the  purpose  of  perfume  manufacture — similar  to 
those  seen  in  France  and  Italy — are  checked  by  the 
difficulties  at  present  surrounding  the  labor  question. 
The  •"  extracts"  are  now  imported  largely  from  the 
Old  World  ;  but  I  may  note  that  the  perfumes  made 
by  Young,  Ladd  &  Coffin  are  put  into  dainty  bottles, 
some,  of  those  I  most  admired  being  the  "Limoges 
jugs "  made  by  the  women-workers  at  the  famous 
Cincinnati  Rockwood  Pottery,  which  is  under  the 
control  of  a  very  clever  lady,  the  daughter  of  the 
wealthy  wine-grower,  Mr.  Longworth.  Some  of  the 
plaques,  bowls,  and  vases  produced  at  this  pottery 
have  deservedly  received  the  recognition  of  leading 
Art  connoisseurs.  Young,  Ladd  &  Coffin,  unlike  Mr. 
Rimmel,  confine  themselves  entirely  to  the  manu 
facture  of  scents,  while  he  is  always  breaking  out  in 
some  new  direction.  For  the  benefit  of  ocean  travel 
lers,  let  me  recommend  as  an  excellent  cabin  com 
panion  Rimmel's  recent  invention,  "  The  Aromatic 
Ozonizer."  It  not  only  acts  as  a  natural  air  purifier, 
but  is  reviving  and  health-giving  as  well,  emitting  the 
wonderful  virtues  of  the  pine  and  eucalyptus  trees. 
It  has  a  marvellous  effect  on  the  respiratory  organs, 
and  always  brings  back  to  me  the  delicious  fragrance 


WOMAN    SUFFRAGISTS.  29 

of  the  pine  woods  of  Arcachon,  a  delightful  resort  on 
the  coast  of  Spain,  where  I  spent  some  months  a  few 
years  since. 

During  my  residence  at  Mrs.  Bullard's  I  was  intro 
duced  to  two  of  the  best-known  woman  suffragists, 
Mrs.  Stanton  and  Susan  B.  Anthony.  They  both 
struck  me  as  thoroughly  disinterested,  and  equally  in 
earnest  about  "  the  cause  "  to  which  their  lives  have 
been  devoted.  Mrs.  Stanton,  a  charming  old  lady 
with  fascinating  silver  curls,  is  full  of  fun  and  vivacity, 
and  abounds  in  anecdotes  and  witticisms  ;  rather  than 
not  tell  a  good  story,  she  will  narrate  a  joke  against 
herself.  She  was  the  first  to  advocate  in  America  the 
woman's  right  to  vote,  introducing  a  motion,  at  the 
Convention  held  in  July,  1848,  at  Seneca  Falls,  much 
even  to  the  alarm  of  Lucretia  Mott.  The  resolution 
was  carried,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  struggle 
which  is  going  on  at  the  present  hour.  Recently  Mrs. 
Stanton  and  her  friend  Miss  Anthony  have  been 
spending  much  time  in  England,  and  those  present  at 
the  suffrage  meeting  held  in  St.  James'  Hall  in  1883, 
will  not  easily  forget  how  the  former  came  to  the 
rescue  when  mutiny  in  the  camp  itself  caused  an 
amendment  to  be  proposed  which  threatened  the 
peace  of  the  meeting.  But  for  the  oil  poured  on  the 
troubled  waters  by  a  most  opportune  speech  from  this 
handsome,  venerable-looking  American  lady,  I  doubt 
if  order  would  have  been  restored.  And  yet  in  their 
own  country  I  have  heard  Mrs.  Stanton  and  Miss 
Anthony  described  as  the  "  most  pertinacious  incendi 
aries,  diligent  forgers  of  all  manner  of  projectiles,  from 
fireworks  to  thunderbolts,  which  they  have  hurled 
with  unexpected  explosion  into  the  midst  of  all  man- 


30  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ner  of  educational,  reformatory,  and  religious  conven 
tions,  sometimes  to  the  pleasant  surprise  of  the  mem 
bers,  but  more  often  to  the  bewilderment  of  numer 
ous  victims,  and  the  gnashing  of  angry  men's  teeth." 
Mrs.  Stanton  took  me  to  one  of  the  most  perfect 
American  homes  I  visited,  the  head  of  which,  the 
Hon.  Gerrit  Smith,  was  known  and  respected  through 
out  the  States  for  his  efforts  as  an  Abolitionist.  I 
spent  a  pleasant  Christmas  in  his  hospitable  house  at 
Peterboro,  once  the  refuge  of  the  fugitive  slave,  where 
an  equally  hearty  welcome  awaited  the  red  man  in 
the  days  when  that  part  of  the  State  of  New  York 
was  peopled  by  Indians.  In  Gerrit  Smith,  America 
lost  one  of  her  grandest  citizens,  for  his  life  was  one 
prolonged  tale  of  beneficence.  He  gave  over  200,000 
acres  of  land  in  farms  of  fifty  acres  each  to  poor  white 
and  colored  men,  and  his  immense  wealth  enabled 
him  to  respond  as  his  generosity  dictated  to  all  charita 
ble  appeals.  I  shall  neither  forget  the  happy  month 
spent  with  his  family,  nor  my  perilous  journey  from 
his  house  in  a  blinding  January  snow-storm,  when  a 
lecture  engagement  compelled  me,  in  spite  of  the 
severity  of  the  weather,  to  leave  its  hospitable  shelter. 
If  the  reader  cares  to  picture  our  descent  to  the 
Canstota  Station — Peterboro  is  900  feet  above  it — let 
him  imagine  himself  in  some  elevated  position,  over 
looking  a  wide  expanse  of  country  white  with  snow, 
with  the  thermometer  twenty  degrees  below  zero  ! 
Presently  the  sound  of  sleigh-bells  can  be  heard,  then 
a  moving  mass  of  snow  might  be  seen ;  the  very 
horses  are  covered  with  snow,  and  the  people  in  the 
sleigh  are  crouching  together  to  shield  each  other  as 
far  as  may  be  from  the  biting  cold.  You  can  not  dis- 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

SLEIGHING.  31 


cover  their  rank,  age,  or  sex,  for  they  are  all  muffled 
up  in  hoods,  from  which  icicles  are  hanging.  One  un 
happy  man,  however,  is  forced  to  keep  a  leg  out  of  the 
sleigh,  for  the  road  is  a  sheet  of  ice,  and  he  must  be 
ready  to  spring  out  at  a  moment's  notice  to  hold  the 
sleigh  as  it  swings  round,  to  prevent  it  from  going 
over  the  precipices  which  have  to  be  passed  in  this 
perilous  fashion.  Every  now  and  then  the  snow-drifts 
are  so  deep  that  the  road  threatens  to  become  impas- 
sable.  At  last,  after  a  drive  of  two  hours,  the  dep6t 
is  reached  in  safety,  and  the  sense  of  thankfulness, 
especially  on  the  part  of  the  driver,  who  best  knew 
the  dangers  of  the  way,  can  be  better  imagined  than 
described.  The  sensations  with  which  a  snow-storm 
is  regarded  in  America  depend  upon  your  position 
and  prospective  enterprises.  If  you  are  travelling 
across  a  wild  prairie,  no  more  terrible  thing  can  befall 
you  than  a  driving  snow.  Even  in  the  train  your  fate 
is  far  from  enviable  ;  the  locomotive  is  frosted  over, 
the  windows  of  the  cars  are  glazed  with  ice,  the  track 
is  undistinguishable  ;  there  is  nothing  to  guide  the 
eye,  you  seem  to  be  crossing  fields,  plunging  into 
forest  at  random,  while  the  engine-bells  are  ringing 
wildly  and  shrieking  in  a  peculiarly  American  fashion. 
You  have  a  fair  prospect  of  getting  into  a  snow-drift 
and  remaining  there  for  the  night,  and  your  chances 
of  fulfilling  an  engagement  are  of  the  vaguest  descrip 
tion.  Just  before  this  journey  I  accompanied  Mrs. 
Park  Godwin  *  to  the  Art  reception  given  in  the 
studio  buildings  in  New  York,  and  saw  Mr.  Jervis 
MacEntee's  famous  picture  of  a  locomotive  tearing 


Daughter  of  the  poet  William  Cullen  Bryant. 


32  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

wildly  through  a  fearful  snow-drift,  its  red  light 
fiercely  glaring  on  a  signal-man  standing  to  the  right 
of  it.  After  this  experience  I  realize  the  full  force  of 
the  situation,  and  should  like  to  have  purchased  that 
painting,  to  give  friends  at  home  some  idea  of  winter 
travel  in  America.  Word-painting  is  quite  inadequate 
to  the  task. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  President  at  the  White  House — Washington  etiquette — 
Caste  in  America — Women  Lobbyists — Women  employed  in 
the  Civil  Service — Verdict  of  General  Spinner  on  the  female 
clerks — Lady  John  Manners  and  the  English  notion  of  their 
social  position — Draughtswomen  in  English  engineer  offices 
— Conversation  with  Senator  Sumner  on  Republicanism  and 
English  loyalty  to  Queen  Victoria — Grace  Greenwood. 

RECEPTIONS  at  the  White  House,  though  consid 
ered  equivalent  to  Her  Majesty's  drawing-rooms,  are 
widely  different  affairs. 

I  made  my  first  appearance  at  one  of  the  earliest 
General  Grant  held  after  his  election.  Lady  Thorn 
ton,  who  was  to  introduce  me,  being  ill,  kindly  placed 
me  in  the  care  of  Mrs.  Fish,  who  conducted  me 
through  a  densely  packed  mass  of  people  extending 
from  the  hall  to  the  reception-room.  Even  in  the 
great  Republic  there  are  privileged  ways  and  privi 
leged  people  ;  and  thanks  to  the  lady  in  question,  the 
wife  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  I  was  soon  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mrs.  Grant, 
and  their  daughter  Nelly,  who  had,  for  more  than 
two  hours,  been  shaking  hands  with  each  member  of 
a  huge  assemblage  which  can  only  be  described  as  a 
crowd  ! 

What  would  happen  if  Republican  institutions  in 
volved  the  use  of  court  trains  I  can  not  imagine  !  For 
my  own  part,  I  must  frankly  confess  I  greatly  prefer 
2*  (33) 


34  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

being  allowed  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  head  of  the 
nation  at  this  hour  of  the  day  in  an  ordinary  after 
noon  costume,  to  the  inflictions  which  have  to  be 
endured  at  the  kindred  ceremony  at  our  English 
Court.  To  begin  with,  never  since  extreme  infancy 
had  I  worn  a  low-necked,  sleeveless  dress  till  the  day 
of  my  first  presentation  to  Her  Gracious  Majesty 
Queen  Victoria.  I  can  not  say  I  appreciated  driving 
in  this  condition  on  a  bitter  March  morning,  in  broad 
daylight,  through  a  crowd  of  London  roughs,  or  shiv 
ering,  thanks  to  the  unwonted  scantiness  of  my  attire, 
in  the  Palace,  while  I  waited  for  two  hours  in  the 
large  drawing-room,  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  splen 
didly  dressed  but  impatient  ladies,  for  my  turn  to 
enter  the  presence-chamber.  When  this  goal  is 
reached,  your  train,  which  has  hitherto  been  held 
over  your  arm  to  prevent  its  being  torn  off  your  back 
and  trampled  under  the  ruthless  feet  of  dowagers 
eager  for  admission  into  the  august  presence  of  their 
sovereign,  is  seized  by  one  page-in-waiting  at  the  door 
and  hastily  arranged  by  another ;  the  Lord  Chamber 
lain  announces  your  name  to  the  Queen,  you  make 
your  obeisance,  bow  to  the  other  members  of  the 
Royal  Family,  and  back  out,  in  a  crab-like  fashion, 
as  best  you  can,  with  this  unusual  encumbrance  at 
your  heels.  Frantic  efforts  are  needed  to  secure  your 
carriage,  and  home  is  reached  with  the  pleasing  con 
sciousness  that  the  fatigue  and  exposure  will  probably 
ensure  you  a  severe  attack  of  bronchitis.  The  Queen 
is  rigidly  severe  in  her  regulations  about  low  dresses 
at  such  ceremonies,  and  has  seldom  been  induced  to 
relax  the  rule.  Her  subjects  must  be  brave  enough 
to  risk  pulmonary  affections  or  stay  away  from  draw- 


WASHINGTON  ETIQUETTE.          35 

ing-rooms  usually  held  during  the  bitter  east  winds 
for  which  our  early  English  springs  are  noted. 

But  the  absence  of  court  trains  and  feathers  do  not 
denote  that  our  American  cousins  are  indifferent  to 
personal  adornment,  or  that  points  of  etiquette  are 
disregarded  in  the  great  Republic.  The  ordinary 
Congressman  may  be  shabby  in  his  invariable  suit  of 
black  broadcloth,  but  his  wife  and  daughters  are  re 
splendent  in  Paris  gowns,  and  very  marvels  in  the 
style  of  their  hats  and  bonnets.  Indeed  the  magnifi 
cent  dresses  in  which  the  ladies  may  be  seen  from  the 
dawn  of  day  to  its  decline,  and  the  diamonds  which 
flash  on  all  sides  in  rings,  pins,  brooches  and  hair  or 
naments,  surpass  description. 

And  as  to  etiquette,  Washington  rules  are  as  strin 
gent  as  those  of  monarchical  circles  in  Europe  ;  a  ses 
sion  at  the  capital  is  considered  indispensable  to  the 
success  of  social  fashionable  life.  Grand  entertain 
ments  are  given,  and  the  newspapers  record  these 
events  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  London  Court  Journal. 
Official  circles  are  often  thrown  into  confusion  by  a 
question  of  "  precedence."  Great  trouble  has  tbeen 
known  at  Washington  during  the  last  year,  the  fact 
that  both  President  and  Vice-President  are  widowers 
having  afforded  a  fruitful  source  of  contention  among 
the  leading  ladies  as  to  who  has  the  best  right  to  pre 
cedence  at  the  White  House. 

Perfect  equality  is  of  course  an  essential  principle 
of  a  Republic,  and  America  is  popularly  supposed  to 
be  the  happy  land  in  which  class  privileges  and  all 
distinctions  not  founded  on  moral  and  intellectual 
worth  are  despised.  I  was  accordingly  surprised  to 
find  that  these  little  matters  are  by  no  means  "  more 


36  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

honored  in  the  breach  than  the  observance  "  in  the 
States ;  and  though  I  was  often  assailed  about  our 
aristocratic  institutions  and  peerage  worship,  I  never 
went  to  a  city  in  which  I  did  not  hear  remarks  which 
implied  the  existence  of  its  equivalent.  "  Mrs.  So- 
and-so, — oh,  we  don't  visit  her,  she  is  not  in  the  best 
set,"  has  met  my  ear  continually,  though  perhaps 
Americans  have  not  yet  rivalled  the  exclusiveness  of 
the  Oxonian,  who  excused  himself  for  not  attempting 
to  save  a  drowning  man  on  the  plea  that  he  had 
"  never  been  introduced  to  him."  Americans  boast 
of  their  freedom  from  the  Britisher's  recognition  of 
different  ranks  and  grades  in  society,  but  all  candid 
persons  will  acknowledge  to  a  growing  love  of  caste 
distinctions  in  that  country.  Society  there  has  its 
dividing  lines,  its  high  fences,  which  separate  indi 
viduals  dwelling  in  the  same  city,  as  distinctly  as 
prejudice,  blood,  or  education  separate  the  aristocrat 
from  the  peasant  in  the  Old  World.  While  the  mea- 
greness  of  mere  "  blue  blood  "  is  daily  becoming  more 
apparent  to  the  cultured  Englishman,  Columbia  is 
casting  her  eyes  longingly  in  the  direction  of  empty 
titles,  and  while  despising  monarchical  government, 
shows  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  trappings  of  royalty. 
Even  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe  accuses  her  countrymen 
of  being  too  ready  to  "  extend  their  hands,  to  wel 
come  that  which  is  least  worthy  in  the  society  of  the 
Old  World." 

One  curious  feature  about  the  Chamber  of  Repre 
sentatives  at  Washington  is  the  free  admission  of 
ladies  to  an  unscreened  gallery.  If  they  wish  to  hear 
a  debate,  they  are  not  shut  up  as  at  Westminster  in  a 
kind  of  sheep  pen,  and  carefully  concealed  behind  a 


AMERICAN    ELOQUENCE.  37 

grating.  As  far  as  I  could  judge,  this  courtesy  pro 
duces  no  fatal  effects  upon  American  legislators.  The 
'terrible  results  predicted  in  the  event  of  the  removal 
of  the  wired-off  cage  from  which  alone  English  women 
can  listen  to  the  wisdom  which  flows  from  the  lips  of 
British  law-makers,  have  not  overtaken  the  representa 
tives  of  the  great  Republic ;  and  when  I  saw  the 
comfortable  quarters  assigned  to  feminine  spectators 
at  Washington,  and  contrasted  them  with  the  barred 
cage  in  the  House  of  Commons,  I  could  not  help  feel 
ing  that  Britons  were  still  too  near  akin  to  Turks  in 
their  arrangements  for  lady  auditors.  But  the  world 
moves,  and  though,  like  Edgar  Poe's  raven,  English 
women  u  still  are  sitting  "  behind  that  brass  fretwork, 
I  can  not  believe  they  will  do  so  for  "  evermore." 
People  will  some  day  feel  ashamed  of  a  custom  ap 
proaching  Eastern  barbarism. 

Each  member  of  Congress  has  his  own  desk  and 
highly  ornamented  spittoon,  and  it  certainly  struck 
me  that  some  of  them  were  far  more  interested  in 
their  private  correspondence  and  tobacco-chewing 
than  in  the  discussion  before  the  House.  We  are 
taught  in  England  that  the  true  American  is  equal  to 
an  eloquent  extempore  speech  at  a  moment's  notice, 
and  that  he  is  taught  to  address  "  Mr.  President  "  be 
fore  he  is  out  of  swaddling  clothes.  Certainly  a  Con 
gressman  speaks  with  wonderful  and  vehement  gesti 
culation  on  the  simplest  question — such  as  an  order 
to  print  a  report. ;  but  though  he  may  not  stammer 
nor  hesitate  like  an  ordinary  Englishman,  who,  as  a 
rule,  does  not  shine  at  speech-making,  it  must  be  con 
fessed  that  there  is  not  too  much  eloquence  to  be 
heard  at  Washington.  No  speaker  I  listened  to,  per- 


38  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

haps,  recalled  the  description  given  of  the  bashful 
lover  in  "  Zekle's  Courtin'  "--a  satire  really  applied 
by  a  Boston  critic  to  an  eminent  English  lecturer: 

"  He  stood  a  spell  on  one  foot  fust, 
Then  stood  a  spell  on  t'other; 
And  on  the  one  he  felt  the  wurst 
He  couldn't  have  told  you  nuther"; 

but  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the  explanations  of 
two  members  on  that  occasion,  who  were  frantically 
endeavoring  to  "  set  themselves  right  before  the 
country,"  irresistibly  brought  to  my  recollection  the 
description  of  the  foundering  of  a  Mississippi  steam 
boat. 

"  She  hove  and  sot  and  sot  and  hove, 

And  high  her  rudder  flung — 
And  every  time  she  hove  and  sot 

A  wusser  leak  she  sprung  !  " 

They  certainly  did  not  get  out  of  their  difficulty  as 
wittily  as  their  accomplished  countrywoman  Grace 
Greenwood,  who  was  tackled  by  a  Chicago  journalist 
for  her  anathema  at  the  House  when  the  Colorado 
State  Admission  Bill  was  defeated.  Not  only  did  she 
deny  having  "  invested  in  Denver  lots,"  and  repudi 
ate  the  possession  of  a  single  railroad  share  in  the  ter 
ritory,  but  she  sarcastically  added,  "  If  my  Chicago 
brother  should  speak  well  of  heaven,  I  would  not  sus 
pect  him  of  having  treasures  laid  up  there !  " 

The  representatives  of  the  American  people  appear 
to  fail  as  signally  to  fulfil  the  expectations  of  exacting 
constituents  as  our  members  in  the  Lower  House,  if 
an  opinion  can  be  based  on  conversations  heard  in 
railway  cars  and  hotel  parlors,  and  the  tone  of  the 


SCENES    IN    CONGRESS.  39 

Press  generally.  One  speaker,  alluding  to  the  session 
which  concluded  in  March,  1882,  bid  a  fierce  adieu  to 
"  a  recreant  legislature  ";  another  hoped  "  a  day  of 
reckoning  would  overtake  those  departing  with  the 
spoils  of  office ";  while  an  editor,  in  a  stringent 
article  reviewing  the  closing  scenes  of  the  Congress, 
boldly  asserted  that  "  if  they  were  not  more  than 
usually  disgraceful,  there  were  at  least  one  or  two 
speeches  which  proved  that  some  members  were  not 
any  too  sober  in  the  early  hours  of  Sunday  morn 
ing."  The  characteristic  Yankee  is  apt  to  declare  he 
can  "beat  creation  hollow"  in  most  things,  and  in 
spite  of  the  scenes  enacted  of  late  years  in  our 
House  of  Commons,  I  do  not  feel  inclined  to  dispute 
with  him  if  he  cares  to  claim  the  palm  for  Congress, 
as  far  as  turbulence  and  disorder  are  concerned.  Of 
course  the  night  in  question  is  not  to  be  taken  as 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  proceedings  to  be  witnessed  at 
the  capital.  To  begin  with,  night  sittings  are  the 
exception,  and  not,  as  with  us,  the  rule,  and  perhaps 
this  might  account  for  the  hilarity  which  prevailed  at 
the  final  meeting  of  this  forty-seventh  Congress,  when 
a  portly  gentleman,  who  made  a  peculiar  windmill 
movement  with  a  pair  of  singularly  long  arms,  greatly 
to  the  distress  of  those  in  his  immediate  vicinity, 
remarked,  that  "  too  much  whisky  having  been  taken 
out  of  bond  in  the  House  that  night,  he  moved  for  a 
recess,  in  order  that  all  might  cool." 

I  have  heard  trustworthy  Americans  say  that  noth 
ing  but  a  high  sense  of  personal  honor  will  keep 
Congressmen,  as  things  now  stand,  from  taking  a 
pecuniary  interest  in  undertakings  on  which  they  are 
called  upon  to  legislate ;  and  as  at  one  time  no  mem- 


4O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

her  of  a  religious  community  in  Massachusetts  un 
dertook  any  perilous  enterprise  without  a  public 
petition  for  guidance  and  security,  it  is  possible  that 
the  story  is  true  of  the  minister  who  read  from  the 
pulpit  the  following  remarkable  and  suggestive  an 
nouncement  :  "  Our  beloved  brother  Jonathan  P. 
Davis  being  about  to  go  to  Congress,  his  wife  re 
quests  the  prayers  of  the  congregation."  This  gives 
a  point  to  the  satire  contributed  by  Moncure  Con- 
way  to  Harper  s  Magazine  of  the  conversation  over 
heard  at  a  London  play.  After  the  hero's  first  theft, 
the  man  in  front  of  Mr.  Conway  remarked,  "  He's  a 
fair  candidate  for  Newgate  Gaol ";  his  friend  replied, 
"  If  he  went  to  America,  he'd  be  a  fair  candidate  for 
Congress." 

I  had  been  told  that  "  the  perilously  pretty,  per 
sistent  fair  lobbyist "  was  a  characteristic  feature  of 
Washington  life.  I  can  not  say  I  became  personally 
familiar  with  any  one  of  this  class,  but  I  did  meet 
ladies,  with  just  claims,  working  in  the  interests  of 
husband,  brother,  or  children,  who  were  brave  enough, 
and  endowed  with  sufficient  perseverance,  in  spite  of 
every  obstacle  and  discouragement,  to  obtain  the  just 
recognition  of  their  cause,  after  many  a  weary  fight 
and  disheartening  delay. 

The  employment  of  women  in  the  Government  of 
fices  was  a  very  interesting  fact  to  me.  I  found  them 
in  the  Treasury  Department  employed  as  counters  of 
fractional  and  other  currency,  copyists,  clerks,  and 
messengers ;  in  the  War  Office  and  Postal  Depart 
ment,  as  well  as  in  the  Printing,  Pension,  and  Patent 
Offices.  In  a  private  audience  accorded  me  by  the 
President,  he  assured  me  of  his  anxiety  to  promote 


CIVIL    SERVICE    EMPLOYMENT.  4! 

the  industrial  interests  of  women,  and  their  "  better 
pay,"  but  confessed  he  was  opposed  to  female  suf 
frage. 

In  spite  of  the  amendment  to  an  Appropriation 
Act  passed  years  ago,  directing  that  women  should  be 
paid  the  same  as  men  when  engaged  in  the  same 
work,  and  authorizing  their  appointment  to  the 
higher  men's  grade,  the  law  remains  to  this  very  hour 
a  dead  letter,  and  the  advocates  of  the  franchise  nat 
urally  declare  that  the  ballot  alone  will  enable  women 
to  obtain  equal  wage  for  equal  service.  Ex-Secretary 
Boutwell  is  said  to  have  practically  encouraged  the 
promotion  of  women  more  than  any  other  Cabinet 
officer,  having  placed  a  lady  in  charge  of  a  division  of 
Internal  Revenue,  and  given  her  the  same  salary  as 
other  chiefs  of  division. 

In  counting  money  and  detecting  counterfeit  coin, 
it  is  freely  acknowledged  that  women  are  more  rapid 
than  men,  and  more  accurate.  Their  fingers  fly  like 
lightning  among  the  bundles  of  bank-notes  and  sheets 
of  revenue  stamps.  General  Spinner,  in  speaking  of 
the  keenness  of  the  lady  clerks  in  the  detection  of 
forged  paper  and  money,  once  remarked,  "A  man  has 
always  a  reason  for  a  counterfeit,  forty  may  be,  but 
he  is  wrong  half  the  time.  A  woman  never  has  a 
reason.  She  says,  '  It's  counterfeit  because  it's  coun 
terfeit  ';  and  she's  always  right,  though  she  couldn't 
tell  why,  if  she  were  to  be  hung  for  it."  I  suppose  it  is 
this  quality  in  women  which  made  the  late  John  Ster 
ling  accuse  them  of  having  "  kangaroo  minds,"- 
leaping  from  point  to  point  with  unerring  instinct, 
instead  of  arriving  at  the  right  conclusion  by  reason 
able  argument. 


42  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

There  has  been  some  controversy  in  England  as  to 
the  class  from  which  the  female  clerks  in  Washington 
are  drafted.  Lady  John  Manners  stated  in  the  Quar 
terly  Review  (January,  1882)  that  "they  were  the 
widows  and  daughters  of  officers  who  had  died  in 
the  service  of  their  country,  or  who  had  filled  high 
places  in  the  Civil  Service."  This  was  contradicted, 
and  a  Glasgow  newspaper  went  so  far  as  to  declare 
that  this  was  only  true  of  those  who  could  influence, 
"  either  by  bribery,  or  perhaps  baser  means,  the  offi 
cial  dispensers  of  favors."  It  is,  indeed,  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  traffic  in  Government  berths  is  brisk, 
and  has  been  the  real  cause  of  many  a  scandal.  But 
from  what  I  gathered  from  information  obtained  at 
headquarters,  the  statement  made  by  Lady  John 
Manners  was  perfectly  correct.  The  New  York  Trib 
une  (April  15,  1883)  also  stated  that  "a  book  could 
be  filled  with  the  pathetic  histories  of  the  women  in 
the  Civil  Service.  Many  are  soldiers'  widows."  Un 
doubtedly  there  have  been  scandals ;  even  incom 
petent  women  have  been  elected,  through  political 
influence  or  official  favor,  but  this  may  be  attributed 
to  what  I  heard  an  American  describe  as  "  the  faultiest 
Civil  Service  in  the  world."  The  best  women  through 
out  America  are  only  asking  for  justice ;  they  wish 
for  a  rigid  examination  as  a  test  of  fitness,  and  pro 
motion  on  the  ground  of  merit  only.  As  Mr.  Dor- 
man  B.  Eaton  has  emphasized,  in  his  able  book  on 
the  British  Civil  Service,  it  is  far  better  for  all  con 
cerned  to  have  a  service  based  on  merit  than  on 
politics. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  days  of  "back-stairs 
influence "  are  over  everywhere.  For  some  time 


SOCIAL    PREJUDICES.  43 

efforts  were  made  in  London  to  keep  exclusively  for 
the  educated  daughters  of  what  we  term  "  people  of 
gentle  birth  "  positions  of  a  higher  grade  than  those 
generally  held  by  ordinary  clerks;  but  when  Mr.  Faw- 
cett  became  Postmaster-General  he  threw  open  to 
public  competition  this  class  of  appointments.  In 
Russia  the  ladies  employed  in  the  telegraph  offices 
are  obliged  to  know  four  languages.  They  are  usually 
connected  with  leading  official  families,  and  their 
social  position  remains  unaffected  by  their  occupa 
tion.  In  England  4,353  women  are  in  the  Civil  Ser 
vice  employ,  nearly  8  per  cent,  of  the  total  number 
engaged.  The  salaries  of  the  chief  clerks  amount  to 
^"170  a  year,  but  very  few  ladies  in  London,  I  regret 
to  say,  receive  £200,  though  the  authorities  speak 
highly  of  their  work,  and  admit  that  if  they  are  less 
ambitious,  they  are  more  conscientious  than  men. 

Naturally,  in  olden  times,  caste  distinctions  and 
social  prejudices  had  far  more  weight  than  they  have 
now.  Even  men  of  high  degree  only  reaped  the 
fruits  of  industry  in  revenues,  themselves  remaining 
an  aristocracy — warlike,  ecclesiastical,  political,  and 
fashionable,  according  to  their  age  and  country.  But 
a  change  has  come  over  the  world.  Civilization  is  no 
longer  in  the  keeping  of  a  limited  aristocracy ;  social 
power  and  personal  culture  are  in  other  hands  than 
those  which  once  held  them  ;  our  gentlemen  are  no 
longer  only  to  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  a  leisured 
aristocracy ;  our  men  of  business  are  now  drawn  from 
our  best  families,  and  English  women  of  the  same 
rank  are  beginning  to  see  that  work  is  not  only  honor 
able  in  a  man,  but  that  idleness  is  discreditable  even  in 
a  woman. 


44  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

The  legacy  of  the  past,  however,  still  weighs  heavily 
enough,  and  those  promoting  the  employment  of 
women  must  keep  before  all  entering  the  labor 
market  in  any  capacity  the  dignity  of  faithfully  per 
formed  service,  and  the  necessity  for  special  training 
to  insure  the  best  quality  of  work.  An  aptitude  for 
skilled  work  does  not  come  by  nature,  as  Dogberry 
insisted  reading  and  writing  did.  Even  the  character 
istic  faculty  for  nursing,  as  Florence  Nightingale  points 
out,  is  useless  without  special  training.  The  heaven- 
born  musician  and  painter  cherish  and  develop  by  hard 
work  the  latent  power  within  them,  and  the  woman 
who  wishes  to  make  a  success  in  any  direction  must 
do  the  same.  She  can  not  step  "  ready-made  "  into 
any  department  of  labor.  With  the  preparation 
needed,  and  invariably  given  to  boys,  girls  have  been 
able  to  give  complete  satisfaction  to  those  who  have 
helped  to  open  new  paths  for  them.  A  most  success 
ful  departure  in  a  novel  direction  at  home  is  the  intro 
duction  of  ladies  as  draughtswomen  into  engineering 
works  and  architects'  offices.  Messrs.  Clarke,  Chap 
man,  and  Gurney,  of  Gateshead,  Northumberland,  are 
so  pleased  with  their  tracings  of  steam-winches,  boilers, 
etc.,  that  they  are  now  introducing  women  into  the 
ordinary  commercial  part  of  their  work.  At  Gorton 
Foundry,  Manchester,  from  which  Messrs.  Beyer  and 
Peacock  have  for  years  sent  locomotives  of  unrivalled 
strength  and  beauty  to  every  part  of  the  world,  I  found 
women  employed  in  a  quiet  nook  in  the  midst  of  that 
huge  hive  of  industry,  where  2,000  men  are  employed, 
and  fiery  furnaces  burn  night  and  day  the  whole  year 
round,  and  the  sound  of  the  ringing  anvil  seldom 
ceases.  Messrs.  Swan  and  Hunter,  shipbuilders  on 


CHARLES    SUMNER.  45 

the  Tyne,  have  just  made  arrangements  for  the  intro 
duction  of  ladies  in  their  offices,  and  the  movement  is 
spreading  in  all  directions.  Few  dare  to  lead,  but 
many  are  ready  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  such  suc 
cesses. 

I  spent  some  pleasant  hours  during  my  first  visit  to 
Washington  with  the  Hon.  Charles  Sumner — a  genial, 
courtly  gentleman,  head  and  shoulders  above  most  of 
his  fellows  in  intellectual  grace  and  culture,  and  one  of 
the  finest  statesmen  America  has  produced.  His  home 
was  full  of  choice  books,  paintings,  and  statues,  and 
his  conversations  on  art,  politics,  or  social  reforms  full 
of  interest  and  instruction.  One  day,  at  the  close  of 
a  long  discussion  on  Republicanism  versus  Monarchy, 
while  admitting  the  political  corruption  exposed  by 
recent  disclosures  in  America,  he  maintained  that  "  a 
true  republic  was  the  fairest  flower  of  civilization," 
and  amused  me  by  adding,  that  "  when  the  people  of 
England  are  virtuous  and  advanced  enough,  a  republic 
they  will  have."  It  certainly  will  be  a  great  day  for 
England  when  the  right  of  every  individual  to  use  the 
power  God  has  given,  free  from  interested  interference, 
is  recognized,  and  to  that  goal,  though  our  progress 
may  be  slow,  we  are  steadily  approaching.  But  the 
reforms  most  desired  are  quite  compatible,  in  the 
opinion  of  many  of  our  advanced  thinkers,  with  a 
monarchical  form  of  government.  The  constitu 
tional  sovereign,  in  a  country  whose  Parliamentary 
institutions  are  a  reality,  reigns,  but  does  not  govern. 
She  acts  as  the  Ministers  advise,  and  they  are  responsi 
ble  for  all  the  proceedings  of  the  Executive.  Their 
dismissal  depends  upon  the  will  of  the  Parliament, 
and  has  to  be  accepted  whether  the  sovereign's  view 


46  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

coincide  with  the  step  or  no.  The  position  is  indeed 
one  of  difficulty  and  delicacy,  for  while  bound  to  have 
opinions  and  convictions  of  her  own,  the  Queen  must 
sacrifice  them,  and  act  as  if  indifferent  to  party  and 
national  questions.  We  have  certainly  arrived  at  a 
period  of  history  when  two  things  are  impossible — a 
political  meddler  on  the  throne,  or  a  dissolute  king. 
Another  George  IV.  would  mean  revolution.  If  his 
successor  had  resembled  him,  it  would  have  gone 
hard  with  the  crown  of  England.  It  is  the  glory  of 
Queen  Victoria  that  she  has  restored  to  royalty  its 
old  prestige,  and  once  more  surrounded  it  with  the 
reverential  affection  which  makes  obedience  easy, 
patriotism  hearty,  and  constitutional  government 
strong  and  stable.  She  has  revived  and  given  a  new 
lease  of  life  to  those  sentiments  of  generous  and  de 
voted  loyalty  which  had  slumbered  ever  since  the  early 
Stuart  days,  and  which  some  had  mourned  over  as 
altogether  dead.  But  we  have  outlived  the  king  and 
queen  clad  in  purple  and  gold,  with  crowns,  thrones, 
and  sceptres.  Photography  has  made  the  "every 
day"  appearance  of  our  royal  family  familiar  to  every 
cottager  in  the  land.  We  recognize  our  Queen  in  her 
widow's  weeds,  with  her  sons  and  daughters  in  plain 
frocks  and  coats  standing  round  her.  The  Princess  of 
Wales  was  best  known  by  the  picture  that  represented 
her  babies  climbing  over  her  shoulders,  while  her  hus 
band  smoked  his  pipe  like  any  other  son  of  the  soil. 
Family  histories  have  lately  been  freely  given  to  the 
nation,  some  containing  glimpses  of  struggles  "  to 
make  two  ends  meet  "  by  devices  and  economies  which 
cause  the  royal  duchess  and  the  middle-class  matron 
to  feel  very  near  akin  ! 


GRACE    GREENWOOD.  47 

By  some  this  has  been  considered  a  very  daring  ex 
periment,  but  I  believe  the  hour  has  come  when 
royalty  can  afford  to  show  the  English  people  its  inner 
life,  and  be  independent  of  the  tragedy  airs  and  graces 
which  used  to  be  thought  indispensable  to  Court  life. 

Mrs.  Lippincott,  better  known  as  "  Grace  Green 
wood,"  with  whom  I  spent  much  time  during  this  visit 
to  Washington,  has  just  published  in  America  a  very 
interesting  life  of  Queen  Victoria.  This  lady  holds  a 
very  honorable  place  in  journalism  through  her  able 
contributions  to  the  New  York  Times  and  other  papers. 
Her  brilliant  Western  sketches  are  instinct  with  buoy 
ant  life,  for  she  is  one  of  those  rare  women  who  are 
never  old  in  spirit ;  words  seem  to  bound  off  rather 
than  flow  from  her  pen,  and  while  she  has  retained  the 
brightness  of  youth,  she  has  now  acquired  the  mellow 
ness  which  comes  of  a  varied  experience  and  the  pos 
session  of  rich  stores  of  knowledge.  It  is  said  that 
her  acquaintance  with  the  political  history,  principles, 
and  tactics  of  the  two  great  opposing  parties  in  her 
country  and  time  is  most  remarkable,  and  that  she  has 
always  handled  national  questions  in  a  thoroughly 
patriotic  spirit. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Railroads,  drawing-room  cars,  sleepers,  and  hotel  cars — Cookery 
in  restaurants,  hotels,  and  private  houses — Chicago — Mrs. 
Kate  Doggett,  Mrs.  Fernando  Jones,  General  Osborne — The 
Soldiers'  Home  at  Milwaukee — American  affection  for  Eng_ 
land. 

THE  journey  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  Chi 
cago  gave  me  my  first  experience  in  American  railroad 
travelling.  I  thought  then  I  had  performed  a  great  feat, 
as  I  left  New  York  on  Monday  morning  and  did  not 
reach  the  " garden  city"  till  Wednesday,  though  my 
train,  like  Dr.  Watts's  sun,  "  never  tired  or  stopped 
to  rest."  Subsequent  journeys  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  across  the  plains  to  California,  through 
Arizona  and  Texas,  taught  me  afterward  to  legard 
this  as  quite  "  an  easy  run."  The  stations  are  called 
depots,  the  carriages  are  "  cars,"  the  line  is  known  as 
the  "  track,"  the  engine  is  spoken  of  as  a  "  locomo 
tive,"  the  guards  as  "  conductors,"  the  luggage  is 
"  freight,"  and  the  signal  for  starting  is  the  cry  of 
"  All  aboard."  The  ordinary  cars  hold  about  forty 
persons,  and  the  utter  want  of  ventilation  almost 
stifles  you.  iS"o  one  will  allow  you  to  open  a  window. 
If  you  venture  on  such  an  indiscretion,  the  conductor 
remonstrates  "  most  politely  "  against  an  innovation 
so  singular  that  it  at  once  betrays  your  nationality 
and  ignorance  of  the  ways  and  manners  of  the  natives. 
If  you  persist,  he  ends  the  argument  by  closing  the 
window  himself,  quietly  remarking,  "  I  guess  we  can't 
(48) 


AMERICAN    RAILWAY    CARS.  49 

afford  to  warm  the  prairies  as  we  pass."  Fortunately, 
though  the  great  Republic  acknowledges  no  first  or 
second  class,  most  of  the  trains  are  provided  with 
drawing-room  cars,  in  which,  for  a  few  extra  dollars, 
you  enjoy  plenty  of  space  and  better  air,  magnificent 
upholstery,  dressing-rooms,  iced  water,  grand  mirrors, 
etc.,  while  comfortable  .  arm-chairs  are  ranged  on 
either  side  of  the  avenue  down  the  middle,  through 
which  people  are  always  passing  "  back  and  forth," 
as  they  term  it,  and  boys  ply  a  brisk  trade  in  papers, 
books,  figs,  and  candies.  At  night  this  is  changed 
for  a  sleeping-car;  bona fide  beds  are  made  up,  like 
the  berths  in  an  ocean  steamer,  one  above  the  other, 
and  ladies  and  gentlemen  retire  to  rest  behind  the 
curtains  which  screen  them  off  from  the  gaze  of  each 
other  and  the  inevitable  avenue  walker,  while  the 
negro  porter  in  attendance  cleans  the  passengers' 
boots,  and  watches  to  see  that  light-fingered  gentry 
do  not  deprive  innocent  sleepers  of  their  watches  and 
money.  The  entire  arrangement  is  so  novel,  that  an 
English  traveller  finds  it  difficult  to  become  recon 
ciled  to  being  packed  up  for  the  night  in  this  promis 
cuous  fashion  ;  for  though  we  have  Pullman  sleepers 
for  night  journeys  on  trains  to  Manchester,  Liver 
pool,  and  Edinburgh,  they  are  but  little  used  by 
ladies.  Without  being  prudish,  the  idea  of  a  stranger 
occupying  the  berth  above  you,  enclosed  within  the 
shelter  of  your  own  curtains,  is  distasteful  to  most 
people.  It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  our  Yankee 
cousins,  who  astonish  us  by  providing  a  separate 
entrance  for  ladies  in  their  hotels,  and  strain  at  so 
many  gnats  in  other  directions,  should  swallow  such 
a  camel  as  one  sleeping-car,  without  even  arranging 
3 


5O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

that  all  the  ladies  should  be  assigned  the  part  nearest 
their  dressing-room,  and  the  gentlemen  the  opposite 
end  next  the  smoking-room.  At  first  I  rebelled  alto 
gether  against  the  sleeping-car  institution,  not  so 
much  from  modesty,  I  confess,  as  from  a  nervous 
dread  of  asthma  in  these  narrow,  closed-up  sections. 
Latterly,  however,  I  became  quite  reconciled  to  it ; 
and  indeed,  the  long  journeys  across  the  plains  and 
to  the  South  would  be  impossible  without  the  rest  it 
affords,  and  at  last  I  learned  to  slumber  as  peacefully 
in  a  Pullman  sleeper  as  in  an  ordinary  bed,  and  almost 
to  prefer  night  to  day  journeys.  Every  night  the 
linen  sheets  and  pillow-slips  are  changed,  and  one  of 
the  heaviest  expenses  of  a  sleeping-car  is  the  washing 
bill.  The  Wagner  Company,  I  am  told,  pays  30,000 
dollars  a  year,  and  the  Pullman  bill  for  washing  is 
still  heavier.  The  conductors  and  porters  in  these 
drawing-room  and  sleeping-cars  are  some  of  the  most 
polite  men  to  be  found  in  the  whole  of  America  ;  the 
former  are  most  intelligent,  and  take  infinite  pains  to 
give  the  stranger  any  information  respecting  the 
route,  pointing  out  places  of  interest  with  all  the 
pride  of  ownership  derived  from  their  possession  of 
the  road. 

A  great  deal  has  been  written  about  the  luxury  of 
American  railroad  travelling.  It  did  not  strike  me 
as  luxurious.  It  is  supposed  that  these  hotel  cars 
accompany  each  train,  and  that  you  have  only  to  step 
in  from  your  saloon  carriage  and  breakfast  and  dine 
whenever  you  please  white  continuing  your  journey. 
When  you  do  strike  this  institution,  I  admit  it  is  a 
boon  to  the  weary  traveller  doomed  to  such  long  dis 
tances  ;  but  as  far  as  my  own  experience  goes,  hotel 


RAILROAD    TRAVELLING.  51 

cars,  like  angel's  visits,  are  few  and  far  between,  and 
meals  are  arranged  at  hours  which  make  them  practi 
cally  useless.  For  instance,  en  route  for  Denver,  din 
ner  was  offered  me  at  half-past  twelve,  an  hour  after 
I  left  Chicago,  where  I  had  enjoyed  an  excellent  ten 
o'clock  breakfast  at  the  Palmer  House.  Toward  the 
end  of  the  afternoon  my  thoughts  naturally  reverted 
to  the  subject  of  food,  but  I  found  I  had  lost  my  oppor 
tunity.  The  hotel  car  had  been  dropped  at  a  depot 
when  the  dinner  was  over,  and  I  was  told  we  should 
not  "  take  up  another  till  the  next  morning."  Thanks, 
however,  to  the  Luncheon  Basket — its  size  demands 
the  use  of  capital  letters — which,  after  one  or  two  such 
experiences,  was  always  well  stocked  by  my  thought 
ful  travelling  companion,  we  became  quite  independ 
ent  of  these  will-o'-the-wisp  dining-cars.  The  said 
basket  was  duly  provisioned  with  tins  of  oysters,  hard- 
boiled  eggs,  a  cold  roast  fowl,  celery,  cheese,  pots  of 
fresh  butter,  jam,  tea,  and  claret ;  so  with  our  porta 
ble  kettle  and  spirit  lamp,  and  with  the  supplies  of 
fresh  bread  the  porter  purchased  for  us  at  the  eating- 
house  depots,  we  were  able  to  defy  starvation  for  sev 
eral  days.  Fruit  and  coffee  can  also  be  obtained  on 
the  road,  but  the  latter  is  seldom  good,  and  often 
costly.  In  Arizona,  for  instance,  I  have  paid  a  dollar 
for  two  cups  of  coffee  which  were  not  fit  to  drink. 
Just  when  our  long  journeys  were  over  the  Pullman 
Company  opened  a  buffet  at  one  end  of  the  drawing- 
room  cars,  so  that  good  bread  and  butter,  cold  meats, 
tea  and  coffee,  can  now  be  obtained  whenever  pas 
sengers  require  "  that  which  is  necessary  for  the  ani 
mal  frame."  I  heartily  congratulate  my  American 
friends  on  this  arrangement,  for  luncheon  baskets  are 


52  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

not  without  their  difficulties  ;  food  is  apt  to  grow  stale 
after  a  day  or  two,  and  existence  on  the  menu  I  have 
indicated  becomes  monotonous  after  the  fifth  consecu 
tive  meal ! 

The  trains  stop  at  the  eating-house  depots  for  meals 
at  certain  hours,  but  the  food  is  so  badly  cooked  that 
it  is  difficult  to  eat  and  impossible  to  digest.  I  must 
note  one  remarkable  exception,  for  I  never  wish  for  a 
better  breakfast  than  I  had  at  La  Junta  in  Colorado. 
Before  departing  I  complimented  the  manager  on  the 
culinary  art  displayed  by  his  chef,  and  then  the  mys 
tery  was  explained.  The  proprietor  proved  to  be  a 
German,  who  had  learned  his  trade  in  Paris ;  and 
while  waiting  for  the  train  to  start  off  again  on  its  way 
across  the  plains  into  Kansas,  we  talked  over  Ameri 
can  shortcomings  in  this  direction,  and  agreed  that 
the  proverb  "  God  sends  the  food,  and  the  devil  the 
cook"  is  terribly  applicable  to  this  country.  "They 
don't  understand  anything  about  keeping  meat  till  it 
is  tender;  they  kill  and  cook  right  away,"  he  said.  In 
every  city,  hotel  cooking  is  inferior  to  what  you  find 
in  the  restaurants.  Delmonico's  and  the  Brunswick 
in  New  York  hold  their  own  with  the  best  dinners  I 
ever  had  in  Paris,  or  at  the  Criterion,  Bristol,  or  Con 
tinental  in  London ;  there  are  restaurants  I  could 
name  in  Boston,  Baltimore,  New  Orleans,  and  San 
Francisco,  to  which  I  was  introduced  by  hospitable 
practiced  diners-out,  and  which  are  equally  good.  The 
hotels  make  the  mistake  of  aiming  at  an  extensive 
menu — quantity  rather  than  quality. 

A  sagacious  black  waiter  once  remarked  to  me 
when  travelling  through  Alabama,  "  What  people 
want  here  is  a  good  square  meal ;  they  are  not  par- 


AMERICAN    COOKERY.  53 

;icular  about  what  they  eat,  if  only  they  have  a  lot  of 
;hings  placed  in  front  of  them." 

If  you  pass  out  of  the  narrow  range  of  the  million- 
lires  who  keep  French  cooks  at  fabulous  wages,  or 
;he  few  houses  in  which  the  science  of  eating  is  really 
anderstood,  you  find  a  superabundance  of  bad  cook- 
ng,  indigestible  hot  breads,  tough  beefsteaks  hardly 
warmed  through,  greasy  potatoes — considered  an  in- 
lispensable  breakfast  dish  in  America — to  say  noth- 
ng  of  wonderful  and  fearful  inventions  in  the  shape 
)f  pastry  cakes  and  sweets,  and  unlimited  supplies  of 
ced  water.  A  sense  of  taste  is  probably  one  of  the 
ast  and  highest  stage  of  civilization. 

Many  of  my  friends  across  the  Atlantic  frankly 
*  own  up  "  to  their  country's  defects  as  far  as  culinary 
natters  are  concerned,  and  an  effort  is  being  made  to 
establish  cooking  schools  for  ladies  in  the  large  cities. 
Fhe  American  housewife  is  often  at  the  mercy  of 
5ome  raw  Irish  servant,  and  if  she  has  no  practical 
<nowledge  she  can  riot  possibly  cope  with  Bridget's 
gnorance  and  wastefulness.  Miss  Parloa's  classes  in 
New  York  have  been  well  attended,  and  she  seems 
nore  than  satisfied  with  the  progress  she  is  making, 
ind  asserts  that  "  at  no  distant  day  Americans  will 
surpass  Europeans  in  the  art  of  cookery" — " a  con 
summation  devoutly  to  be  wished  "  by  many  who 
have  sighed  over  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered 
directly  you  leave  the  shadow  of  the  larger  cities,  or 
:an  appreciate  the  fact  that  there  is  a  delicacy  and  re 
finement  appertaining  to  the  food  you  eat,  as  much  as 
to  the  clothes  you  wear  and  the  books  you  read.  And 
indeed,  as  Owen  Meredith  says : 

'  We  may  live  without  poetry,  music,  and  art, 
We  may  live  without  conscience,  and  live  without  heart. 


54  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

We  may  live  without  friends,  we  may  live  without  books, 
But  civilized  man  can  not  live  without  cooks. 
He  may  live  without  books ;  what  is  knowledge  but  grieving? 
He  may  live  without  hope ;  what  is  hope  but  deceiving  ? 
He  may  live  without  love ;  what  is  passion  but  pining? 
But  where  is  the  man  that  can  live  without  dining?  " 

Just  as  a  sensitive  mind  dreads  contact  with  any 
thing  unrefined,  the  delicate  palate  refuses  coarsely 
prepared  food.  There  is  a  wide  gulf  between  glut 
tony  and  a  due  appreciation  of  the  science  of  cookery, 
and  in  the  interests  of  health  itself  this  can  not  be  too 
emphatically  stated.  Ladies  working  in  the  temper 
ance  cause  should  lay  this  to  heart,  for  many  a  man 
has  been  driven  to  the  use  of  stimulants  for  want  of 
a  good,  nourishing  diet.  It  has  been  said  that  France 
is  a  sober  nation  because  it  is  a  nation  of  cooks.  Im 
perfectly  nourished  persons  naturally  crave  for  stimu 
lants,  and  every  thoughtful  person  will  acknowledge 
that  the  health  and  happiness  of  the  people  will  be 
promoted  by  good  cookery.  I  remember  reading  an 
amusing  article  on  the  "  joyless  American  face."  The 
writer  said  it  was  not  the  evidence  of  an  impassioned 
soul,  of  conflicting  doubts  or  spiritual  yearnings,  but 
it  is,  he  exclaimed,  "  the  pies,  hot  biscuits,  pickles, 
strange  drinks,  and  other  vagaries  of  our  national  ap 
petite.  The  American  stomach  has  been  for  years, 
generally  and  individually,  the  laboratory  of  the  pro- 
foundest  experiments  in  the  matter  of  peculiar  mix 
tures.  We  bolt  unwholesome  provisions,  containing 
the  antipodes  of  heat  and  cold,  in  the  midst  of  busi 
ness  hours,  and  then  wonder  that  we  are  brought  up 
sharp  with  a  life-long  attack  of  dyspepsia." 

My  first  visit  to  Chicago  was  made  a  year  after  the 


CHICAGO.  55 

great  fire,  when  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  still 
full  of  the  destruction  of  their  property  and  the  des 
olation  of  their  homes,  50,000  families  having  been 
suddenly  rendered  shelterless  by  the  conflagration, 
which  destroyed  27,000  acres  of  buildings  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  drove  the  people  into  the  lake  and 
on  to  the  prairie  for  safety,  and  husbands  and  wives 
were  for  days  in  suspense  as  to  the  fate  of  those 
nearest  and  dearest  to  them. 

Grace  Greenwood  once  told  me  she  regarded  Chi 
cago  as  "  New  York  with  the  heart  left  in  ";  but  un 
able  to  yield  this  tribute  without  an  accompanying 
joke,  she  added  that  the  genuine  Chicagoan  had  not 
only  learned  the  Scotchman's  prayer,  "  Lord,  gie  us  a 
gude  conceit  o'  oorsels,"  but  had  it  abundantly  an 
swered  !  Thus  it  is  alleged  what  when  a  true- 
spirited  citizen  from  Chicago  first  visits  New  York, 
he  exclaims,  "  It  isn't  much  of  a  city  after  all." 
When  he  drinks  New  York  whisky  he  complains  it 
isn't  half  as  good  as  he  gets  at  home,  for  it  only 
burns  "  half-way  down  "  !  The  Sunday  newspapers 
can't  compare  with  his ;  and  as  for  the  feet  to  be  seen 
on  Fifth  Avenue,  he  contemptuously  remarks,  "  Call 
that  a  foot ! — our  girls  have  them  twice  the  size !  " 
Of  course  this  is  a  gross  libel  on  the  cultured  repre 
sentative  of  the  West.  The  history  of  Chicago  is 
indeed  without  a  parallel.  Fifty  years  back  it  was 
the  haunt  of  the  Indian  and  wolf;  and  to-day,  in 
spite  of  the  fearful  fire  of  1871,  it  has  magnificent 
buildings,  law-courts,  public  libraries,  churches,  and 
hotels.  The  Palmer  House,  an  entirely  fire-proof 
building,  is  one  of  the  best  hotels  in  America,  thanks 
to  the  untiring  energy  of  its  courteous  manager,  Mr. 


56  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Willis  Howe.  The  splendid  houses  on  Michigan  and 
Prairie  Avenues  are  models  of  taste  and  elegance, 
and  those  who  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  gain  ac 
cess  to  the  right  set,  find  in  Chicago  a  thoroughly  re 
fined  and  cultivated  society. 

My  first  recollections  of  this  city  are  connected 
with  Mrs.  Kate  Doggett,  whose  death  last  March 
many  are  still  deploring.  Her  wide  range  of  talents, 
and  extensive  acquaintance  with  European  literature, 
attracted  both  men  and  women  prominent  in  various 
departments  of  thought  and  labor,  and  her  hospitable 
home  in  palmy  days  was  therefore  the  centre  of 
many  distinguished  gatherings.  The  social  amenities 
which  make  up  so-called  "  society  life"  were  unpleas 
ant  to  her,  and  a  severe  manner  was  apt  to  be  mis 
taken  by  strangers  for  want  of  sympathy,  especially 
as  this  was  combined  with  a  somewhat  aggressive 
adherence  to  her  own  opinions,  and  a  tendency  to 
ignore  the  possibility  of  any  other  view.  She  founded 
the  Philosophical  Society  and  Fortnightly  Club,  and 
was  certainly  a  power  in  the  circle  she  moved  in. 
After  a  brief  and  pleasant  stay  at  her  house  on 
Michigan  Avenue,  I  was  entertained  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fernando  Jones,  under  whose  kind  auspices  I  visited 
everything  of  interest  in  the  city,  including  an  insti 
tution  about  100  miles  away  from  it,  viz.,  the  Home 
for  Disabled  Soldiers  at  Milwaukee.  We  were  es 
corted  there  by  General  Osborne,  who  materially 
aided  in  achieving  the  one  victory  ever  gained  over 
the  redoubtable  Stonewall  Jackson,  and  shared  with 
General  Sheridan  the  honor  of  receiving  one  of  the 
two  pistols  awarded  to  the  "  bravest  generals  in  the 
Union  Army." 


SOLDIERS     HOME.  -     57 

As  one  of  the  managers  of  the  National  Asylums, 
established  on  the  contributions  of  "  bounty  jumpers  " 
and  the  fines  of  deserters,  General  Osborne  invited  me 
to  see  the  Wisconsin  Home,  where  deserving  soldiers 
are  cared  for  at  the  expense  of  bad  ones.  After  a 
pleasant  dinner  at  the  Governor's,  we  were  taken  to 
the  Institution  itself,  and  received  by  the  officers  and 
their  wives,  who  accompanied  us  through  the  build 
ing — the  library  and  reading-rooms,  lecture  and  con 
cert  hall,  post  and  telegraph  office,  and  hospital  ward, 
with  its  excellent  staff  of  nurses,  until  we  reached  the 
workshops,  where  those  who  desire  it  can  learn  any 
kind  of  trade.  At  five  o'clock  the  bugle  sounded,  and 
600  soldiers  assembled  in  the  concert-hall.  I  was  con 
ducted  to  the  platform  by  the  Governor,  General  Os 
borne,  and  Colonel  Ludwicke,  and  the  inevitable 
speeches  occupied  at  least  an  hour. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  part  of  the  entertainment 
the  soldiers,  at  the  Governor's  invitation,  sent  a  most 
"  enthusiastic  greeting  "  to  the  British  Army,  accom 
panied  by  deafening  cheers.  How  I  was  to  convey  it 
I  never  knew.  But  I  thoroughly  understood  what 
it  meant,  and  the  constant  expressions  of  devotion  to 
the  old  country,  which  are  heard  throughout  the 
States,  can  not  fail  to  awaken  the  traveller's  cordial 
response.  The  fervid  words  of  the  American  poet 
simply  express  the  widespread  sentiment  of  his  coun 
trymen,  and  must  certainly  find  an  echo  in  every 
manly  English  breast : 

"  Britons — in  hope  and  creed, 

In  blood  and  tongue  our  brothers ; 
We  too  are  heirs  of  Runnymede, 
And  Shakespeare's  fame  and  Cromwell's  deed 
Are  not  alone  the  mother's  ! 
3* 


58  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  '  Thicker  than  water,' — in  one  rill, 

Through  centuries  of  story, 
Our  Saxon  blood  has  flowed,  and  still 
We  share  with  them  its  good  and  ill, 
The  shadow  and  the  glory  ! 

"  Joint-heirs  and  kinsfolk,  leagues  of  wave 

Nor  length  of  years  can  part  us, 
The  right  is  ours  to  shrine  and  grave, 
The  common  freehold  of  the  brave, 

The  gift  of  saints  and  martyrs. 

"  Our  very  sins  and  sorrows  teach 
Our  kindred  frail  and  human  ; 
We  carp  at  faults  with  bitter  speech, 
The  while,  for  one  unshared  by  each, 
We  have  a  score  in  common." 

In  spite  of  recent  drastic  comments,  which  have 
naturally  excited  some  resentment  in  the  breasts  of 
our  American  cousins,  even  Sir  Lepel  Griffin  owns 
that  they  are  indeed  "  bone  of  our  bone  ";  and  he 
recognizes  that  when  the  united  Anglo-Saxon  race, 
disdaining  all  possible  occasion  of  quarrel,  joins  hands 
across  the  Atlantic,  "  the  peace  and  progress  of  the 
world  will  be  insured."  Whether  such  utterances  as 
are  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  Sir  Lepel's  book  are 
likely  to  "  cement  this  lasting  alliance "  is  perhaps 
another  question,  but  it  is  satisfactory  to  note  that  an 
Englishman  who  has  discovered  so  many  faults  in 
11  the  Great  Republic "  frankly  acknowledges  that 
the  position  "  in  which  Americans  have  placed  their 
women,  is  the  best  guarantee  that  the  nation  will  out 
grow  the  blemishes  "  he  now  complains  of,  and  "  will 
in  the  future  attain  a  higher  civilization  than  has  been 
enjoyed  by  any  people  who  have  regarded  their  intel 
lectual  and  political  life  as  the  undivided  dominion 
of  man." 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  visit  to  the  University  of  Michigan — President  Angel — Andrew 
White  of  Cornell— Professor  Coit  Tyler — Kansas  State  Uni 
versity — Chancellor  Lippincott — Discussion  about  co-educa 
tion — Columbia  College — Rev.  Dr.  Dix  and  Professor  Drisler 
— Consequences  of  higher  education  on  health — Views  of 
Frances  Power  Cobbe,  George  MacDonald,  Mrs.  Joseph 
Choate,  President  Barnard — Rise  and  Progress  of  the  move 
ment  in  England — Miss  Dawes,  the  first  Master  of  Arts  in 
the  London  University — Mrs.  Lucy  Mitchell. 

THE  University  of  Michigan,  which,  through  State 
aid,  offers  its  privileges  to  all  persons  of  either  sex 
who  are  qualified  for  admission,  was  naturally  an  ob 
ject  of  considerable  interest  to  me.  Here  I  was  told 
that  while  the  question  of  co-education  was  being  dis 
cussed  in  the  Eastern  States  it  had  been  practically 
settled  in  the  West.  At  the  President's  house  at  Ann 
Arbor  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  Andrew  White, 
then  President  of  Cornell,  and  I  heard  him  lecture  on 
"  The  Battlefields  of  Science,"  describing  the  opposi 
tion  which  had  been  encountered  in  every  period  of 
history  from  superstition  and  fanaticism. 

The  following  day  Professor  Coit  Tyler  took  me 
over  the  University,  which  is  organized  in  three  de 
partments — literature,  science,  and  arts  ;  medicine  and 
surgery  ;  and  law.  I  saw  the  women  students  attend 
ing  all  classes  save  the  medical ;  here  they  have  sepa 
rate  lectures  and  clinical  demonstrations.  One  of 
these  I  attended  personally,  and  when  it  concluded 
the  sixty  women  left  the  room,  and  in  another  mo- 

(59) 


6O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ment  their  places  were  filled  by  men,  who  listened  to 
the  same  lecture  we  heard,  accompanied  by  the  same 
illustrations.  "  Far  from  injuring  the  scholarship 
here,"  remarked  one  of  the  graduates,  "  they  are,  by 
their  earnestness  and  fidelity,  stimulating  it ;  their 
presence  is  beginning  to  give  class-room  conversation 
that  delicate,  chaste,  and  humane  tone  which  the 
recognition  of  women  among  the  readers  of  books  has 
been  giving  to  English  literature  during  the  last  hun 
dred  years."  The  President  assured  me  that  none  of 
the  ladies  had  found  the  curriculum  too  heavy  for 
their  physical  endurance,  adding  emphatically,  "  any 
woman  who  can  endure  the  strain  that  modern  dress 
and  modern  society  make  upon  her,  can  certainly  en 
dure  any  college  course  of  instruction."  The  same 
testimony  was  afforded  by  President  White  of  Cornell, 
who  declared  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  women  in 
better  health  than  those  at  Cornell,  and  that  "  the 
effect  of  study  was  far  less  disastrous  than  frivolous, 
aimless  lives."  President  Warren,  of  the  Boston  Uni 
versity,  has  also  recently  stated  that  he  could  not  re 
call  a  single  instance  in  nine  years  of  a  girl's  health 
giving  way  from  overwork. 

When  I  visited  the  Kansas  State  University  last 
March  (1884),  Chancellor  Lippincott  spoke  in  the 
strongest  terms  about  the  success  of  the  movement 
there,  claiming  that  the  co-education  scheme  having 
been  carried  in  the  Legislature  of  1864,  Kansas 
deserves  the  credit  of  being  the  first  State  in  the 
Union  to  adopt  it.  "  A  kindlier  and  more  courteous 
spirit  has  marked  all  the  students,  the  roughness  and 
brutality  known  in  so  many  Eastern  colleges  have 
never  appeared  here,  and  in  seventeen  years  of  the 


CO-EDUCATION    IN    THE    COLLEGES.  6 1 

most  radical  co-education  not  a  whisper  of  scandal 
has  disturbed  the  social  life  of  the  University." 

But  in  spite  of  what  has  been  accomplished  at  the 
Boston  University,  Michigan,  Oberlin,  and  Cornell, 
the  propriety  of  opening  universities  to  women  is 
still  hotly  disputed  in  some  quarters.  The  matter 
was  being  vigorously  contested  in  New  York  in  many 
circles  in  the  spring  of  1883,  Columbia  College 
being  the  battlefield  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dix  the  leader 
of  the  opposing  force,  who  boldly  predicted  the 
"  ruin  of  the  sex  "  as  the  result  of  the  movement. 
Dr.  Dix  is  evidently  in  sympathy  with  the  Pope,  who 
was  horror-stricken  at  the  proposal  to  found  a  college 
for  women  at  Montpellier,  which  he  feared  would 
"  inflate  "  their  minds  with  "  the  pride  of  a  vain  and 
impotent  science." 

I  was  also  much  amused  at  the  support  the  opposi 
tion  received  from  Dr.  Drisler,  the  Greek  professor, 
who  expressed  to  the  Tribune  reporter  "  the  fear  that 
girls  would  take  to  cigarette  smoking,  hotel  dinners 
with  toasts  and  responses,  and  the  punch-bowl "  if 
ever  admitted  to  men's  colleges. 

Direful  indeed  are  to  be  the  consequences  of  higher 
education.  Health  is  to  perish  before  it,  matrimony 
to  become  distasteful,  and  motherhood  impossible  ! 
As  women  are  able  to  go  through  severe  fatigue  as 
nurses  in  cases  of  fever  and  prolonged  illness,  as  they 
toil  in  factories,  at  sewing-machines,  and  wash-tubs,  I 
can  only  suppose  these  gentlemen  think  that  their 
physical  strength  may  be  drawn  upon  as  much  as  we 
like  as  long  as  we  carefully  abstain  from  allowing 
them  to  exert  their  minds. 

I  wish  people  who  feel  such  a  tender  solicitude  for 


62  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  welfare  of  girls  would  take  the  trouble  to  trace  to 
its  right  source  what  Miss  Cobbe  describes  as  "  the 
little  health  of  women."  What  of  the  heavy  skirts 
which  have  to  be  dragged  up  and  down  steep  stairs, 
which  collect  a  vast  amount  of  dampness  and  dirt  if 
a  girl  ventures  out  on  a  rainy  day,  and  necessitates  an 
entire  change  of  clothing  on  her  return  ;  the  high- 
heeled  boots  and  the  low-necked  dresses,  the  ill- 
cooked  and  irregular  meals,  and  the  barbarous  custom 
of  letting  bad  hot  air  into  houses  in  the  place  of  the 
wholesome  open  fires  which  give  warmth  and  ventila 
tion  at  the  same  time? 

The  worst  thing  possible  is  to  be  obliged  to  live  as 
hundreds  of  young  ladies  are  forced  to  do  in  fashion 
able  society,  in  obedience  to  customs  which  are 
destructive  to  everything  worthy  and  noble.  George 
MacDonald  says  he  believes  u  many  women  go  into 
consumption  just  from  discontent — the  discontent 
of  a  soul  that  was  meant  to  sit  at  the  Father's  table, 
and  so  can  not  content  itself  with  the  husks  that  the 
swine  eat."  I  venture  to  assert  that  reasonable 
clothing,  plenty  of  air  and  exercise,  combined  with 
mental  activity,  would  put  an  end  to  half  the  bodily 
ailments  by  which  women  are  now  troubled.  The 
proper  exercise  of  the  intellectual  powers  would 
prove  the  best  means  of  preventing  and  counteract 
ing  an  undue  development  of  the  emotional  nature. 
The  extravagances  of  imagination  and  feeling  have 
much  to  do  with  the  ill-health  of  girls. 

Miss  Maria  Mitchell,  Professor  of  Astronomy  at 
Vassar  College,  read  a  remarkable  paper  before  the 
first  Congress  of  the  Association  for  the  Advance 
ment  of  Women,  in  which  she  frankly  stated  that 


EDUCATIONAL    NEEDS    OF    WOMAN.  63 

from  a  recent  visit  to  England  she  could  not  help 
thinking  that  there  was  more  interest  in  educational 
questions  on  our  side  of  the  Atlantic.  "  I  rarely 
meet  in  my  own  country,"  she  said,  "  one  who  is 
interested  in  the  education  of  women,  unless  she  is 
herself  an  educator.  The  mass  of  our  people  do  not 
believe  in  the  education  of  women.  They  believe 
that  women  should  know  no  more  of  mathematics 
than  just  to  be  able  to  count.  But  do  not  most  peo 
ple,  even  of  the  intelligent  classes,  believe  that  above 
all  things  a  woman's  first  duty  is  to  be  useful  in  the 
kitchen  and  ornamental  in  the  parlor  ?  Public  senti 
ment  does  not  yet  require  learning  in  woman,  society 
is  decidedly  opposed  to  it ;  and  however  public  senti 
ment  may  be  constructed,  '  society '  is  decidedly  fash 
ioned  by  women.  It  belongs  to  women  themselves 
to  introduce  a  better  order  of  things." 

The  listlessness  of  wealthy  women  to  the  educa 
tional  needs  of  their  sex  is  apparent  in  several  direc 
tions.  How  few  women,  for  instance,  of  either 
nation  have  left  money  for  the  benefit  of  woman's 
needs  and  colleges !  Well  might  Mrs.  Stanton  point 
to  the  vast  sums  left  to  men's  colleges:  Mrs.  Bunn, 
of  Baltimore,  left  30,000  dollars  to  Princeton,  Mrs. 
Garretson  gave  300,000  dollars  to  an  Illinois  college, 
and  Mrs.  Dudley,  of  Albany,  presented  150,000  dollars 
to  a  scientific  institute  for  men,  "  while  Harvard," 
she  continued,  "has  received  three  gifts  of  25,000 
dollars  each  from  Miss  Plummer,  Mary  Townsend, 
and  Sarah  Jackson,  and  from  other  ladies  30,000 
dollars,  and  yet  for  years  returned  her  thanks  by  clos 
ing  her  doors  against  all  New  England's  daughters." 
Even  then,  when  the  "Annex  "  was  first  opened  about 


64  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

five  years  ago,  the  ladies  had  to  pay  fifty  dollars  more 
than  the  men  for  the  privilege  of  lecturers  to  them 
selves. 

Since  Miss  Mitchell  uttered  the  regret  I  have 
quoted,  I  think  her  countrywomen  have  really  exerted 
themselves  to  bring  about  a  "  better  state  of  things." 
A  charter  has  been  obtained  for  the  Harvard  Annex, 
which  is  now  known  under  the  more  dignified  title 
of  "  The  Society  for  the  Collegiate  Education  ,of 
Women,"  and  I  have  to  thank  Mr.  Oilman  for  a  very 
pleasant  visit  there  in  the  spring  of  1883.  I  received 
Mrs.  Louis  Agassiz's  valuable  testimony  that  "  all 
anxiety  respecting  the  presence  of  young  ladies  in 
the  Harvard  University  was  dissipated  by  the  result 
of  the  first  year's  trial."  While  admitting  that  it  is 
improbable  that  many  women  will  desire  a  collegiate 
education,  Mrs.  Agassiz  maintains  that  those  who  in 
tend  to  become  teachers,  writers,  journalists,  or  have 
a  strong  impulse  for  intellectual  and  scientific  pur 
suits,  should  have  the  opportunity  of  doing  so. 

Mrs.  Joseph  Choate,  when  speaking  of  the  efforts 
of  the  New  York  Association  for  the  Higher  Educa 
tion  of  Women,  assured  me  that  the  reason  why 
American  women  ask  admission  into  existing  colleges 
is  that  they  experience,  as  we  do  in  England,  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  obtaining  first-rate  teaching  in 
separate  colleges,  and  they  naturally  look  to  the 
opening  of  the  university  classes  as  the  simplest  and 
best  means  of  providing  higher  education  and  raising 
a  class  of  really  cultivated  teachers. 

In  February,  1883,  Mrs.  Choate  forwarded  to  the 
trustees  of  Columbia  College  the  petition  in  which 
the  Association  I  have  spoken  of  stated  that  the  pres- 


COLUMBIA    COLLEGE.  65 

ent  condition  of  public  opinion,  both  here  and  abroad, 
favored  admitting  women  to  the  same  educational 
advantages  as  men,  and  cited  the  recent  action  of  the 
Universities  of  Cambridge  and  London.  The  trus 
tees  were  requested  to  extend  to  properly  qualified 
women  the  advantages  of  Columbia  College,  by  ad 
mitting  them  to  examinations  and  lectures.  This 
petition  was  signed  by  about  1,400  persons,  including 
President  Arthur,  General  Grant,  Secretary  Folger, 
Justice  Davis,  ex-Judge  Dillon,  the  Rev.  Drs.  How 
ard  Crosby,  Henry  C.  Potter,  John  Hall,  Richard  S. 
Storrs,  and  Robert  Collyer,  Drs.  Austin  Flint,  Fred 
erick  R.  Sturgis,  William  A.  Hammond,  and  Alonzo 
Clark,  Lloyd  Aspinwall,  Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  Cyrus  W. 
Field,  Edmund  C.  Stedman,  John  Jay,  George  Will 
iam  Curtis,  many  principals  and  teachers  in  schools 
for  young  ladies,  and  by  prominent  ladies  and  gentle 
men  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 

The  trustees  of  Columbia  College,  however,  satis 
fied  themselves  with  declaring  that  co-education, 
which  they  were  not  asked  to  decide  upon,  was  "  in 
expedient,"  but  nevertheless  undertook  to  prepare  a 
course  of  study  to  be  pursued  outside  the  College, 
with  examinations  by  its  professors,  and  a  diploma 
or  testimonial  to  be  given  to  those  who  successfully 
passed  the  three-years'  course.  They  declined,  how 
ever,  to  admit  women  to  the  College  lectures  and  ex 
aminations. 

Columbia  had  always  been  regarded  as  a  wealthy 
College,  but  it  soon  afterward  transpired  that  she 
was  burdened  with  a  heavy  debt,  and  had  no  money 
with  which  to  provide  for  the  instruction  of  women. 
Those  who  signed  the  petition  were  told  if  they  de- 


66  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

sired  to  found  a  school,  it  must  be  entirely  detached 
from  the  University ;  the  Board  would  not  go  fur 
ther  than  agree  to  "consider  how  best  to  develop  the 
growth  of  so  interesting  a  foundation." 

President  Barnard,  of  Columbia,  has  frequently  ex 
pressed  his  sympathy  with  Mrs.  Choate  and  her  col 
leagues.  In  his  speech  before  the  Convocation  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  1882,  he 
demonstrated  with  great  force  why  the  colleges  should 
be  opened  to  talent,  irrespective  of  sex ;  and  in  an 
swer  to  the  objection  that  young  ladies  under  such 
circumstances  would  be  in  danger  of  social  familiarity 
with  undesirable  persons,  he  remarked : 

"  To  say  that  women  sitting  in  the  same  lecture-room  with 
men,  for  three  or  four  hours  a  day,  are  mingled  socially  with 
them  during  that  time,  is  to  speak  nonsense,  or  rather  to  say 
what  is  not  true  in  fact.  I  know  whereof  I  speak.  As  an  officer 
of  a  college  in  another  State,  I  have  had  classes  of  women,  of 
from  fifty  to  a  hundred  at  once,  in  daily  attendance  on  my  lec 
tures,  with  my  regular  classes  of  young  men,  without  any  com 
munication  taking  place  between  them  whatever  beyond  a  re 
spectful  bow  in  passing.  Young  women  might,  with  just  as 
much  propriety,  be  prohibited  from  going  to  church  because 
young  men  are  there  ;  and  the  same  suggestion  is  still  more  ap 
plicable  to  attendance  at  the  opera  or  the  theatre,  or  the  social 
receptions  at  the  colleges  which  young  ladies  are  allowed  to 
attend,  and  during  which  there  is  no  limit  at  all  to  freedom  of 
intercourse,  which  extends  often  deep  into  the  night,  with  the  ac 
companiment  of  music  and  dancing  and  solitary  rambles  through 
all  the  wide  expanse  of  the  college  halls  and  the  grounds.  There 
is  no  need  of  social  'mingling'  between  young  men  and  women 
in  colleges  at  all,  and  with  proper  arrangements  there  will  be 
none.  The  experience  of  schools  of  inferior  grade  shows  this 
plainly  enough.  Of  the  several  hundred  academies  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  under  the  direction  of  the  regents  of  this  Univer 
sity,  the  larger  portion  receive  both  male  and  female  students. 


MRS.    MALAPROP'S    SENTIMENTS.  6/ 

The  scheme  of  instruction  which  these  institutions  attempt  to 
carry  out  embraces  nearly  or  quite  every  subject  taught  in  our 
colleges,  and  the  ages  of  many  of  their  pupils  are  as  advanced 
as  the  average  age  of  college  students.  Yet  though  this  system 
has  been  in  operation  in  these  academies  time  out  of  mind,  we 
have  never  heard  of  any  injurious  consequences  resulting  from 
the  intermingling  of  the  sexes  in  their  class-rooms,  or  out  of 
them.  I  myself,  in  my  juvenile  days,  was  a  member  of  such  an 
academy  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  In  the  same  academy, 
at  the  same  time,  there  were  not  only  boys  and  girls  of  tender 
age,  but  also  young  men  and  young  women,  quite  grown  up.  Dur 
ing  school-hours,  though  all  the  pupils  were  assembled  together 
in  the  same  room,  there  was  no  possible  intercommunication  be 
tween  them  ;  out  of  school-hours  the  boys  gathered  together  to 
pursue  their  sports,  or  went  and  came  by  themselves,  and  the 
girls  did  the  same.  Between  these  two  classes  there  was  prac 
tically  no  intercourse  at  all — certainly  no  more  than  occasionally 
occurs  in  going  to  or  from  church." 

In  spite  of  the  good  opinion  Miss  Mitchell  formed 
of  the  interest  felt  in  England  on  the  educational 
question,  it  took  a  great  many  years  to  extinguish 
Mrs.  Malaprop's  sentiments,  though  few  would  have 
expressed  them  quite  so  openly  or  ignorantly :  "  I 
would  by  no  means  wish  a  daughter  of  mine  to  be  a 
progeny  of  learning.  I  don't  think  so  much  learning 
becomes  a  young  woman  ;  for  instance,  I  would  never 
let  her  meddle  with  Greek  or  Hebrew,  or  Algebra  or 
Simony,  or  Fluxions  or  Paradoxes,  or  such  inflam 
matory  branches  of  learning  !  Nor  will  it  be  necessary 
for  her  to  handle  any  of  your  mathematical,  astronomi 
cal,  diabolical  instruments  ;  but,  Sir  Anthony,  I  would 
send  her,  at  nine  years  old,  to  a  boarding-school,  to 
learn  a  little  ingenuity  and  artifice.  Then,  sir,  she 
should  have  a  supercilious  knowledge  in  accounts, 
and  as  she  grew  up  I  would  have  her  instructed  in 


68  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Geometry,  that  she  might  know  something  of  the 
contagious  countries ;  above  all,  she  should  be  taught 
orthodoxy.  This,  Sir  Anthony,  is  what  I  would  have 
a  woman  know,  and  I  don't  think  there  is  a -supersti 
tious  article  in  it."  For  a  long  time  English  girls  for 
the  most  part  only  received  an  education  which  simply 
aimed  at  a  mere  smattering  of  languages,  a  little  in 
strumental  music,  the  use  of  the  globes  and  dumb 
bells,  and  a  few  superficial  general  notions.  At  best 
they  were  but  dipped  in  a  solution  of  accomplish 
ments,  a  process  which  only  left  on  them  a  thin  var 
nish,  which  never  bore  the  test  of  time. 

Their  education  stopped  at  the  very  moment  when 
it  should  begin  in  real  earnest.  A  youth's  plea  of 
serious  study  is  received  as  a  valid  excuse  for  his  in 
ability  to  answer  the  casual  demands  of  society.  But 
in  our  wealthy  classes,  under  the  stern  rule  of  fashion 
and  frivolity,  social  claims  and  pleasures  compel  higher 
duties  to  give  way  before  them.  A  girl's  work  sel 
dom  takes  precedence  over  other  people's  amuse 
ment  ;  invitations  to  gossip,  morning  calls  and  after 
noon  parties  kill  the  day,  and  her  studies  are  thrown 
to  the  winds ;  as  Miss  Cobbe  says,  "  a  woman  is  gen 
erally  at  the  beck  and  call  of  somebody,  generally  of 
everybody." 

But  the  vexed  question  of  the  higher  education  of 
women  at  last  attracted  the  attention  of  some  of  our 
foremost  men  in  England  ;  the  revelations  made  by 
the  Schools  Inquiry  Commission  aroused  even  public 
indignation  when  the  imperfect  teaching  given  in 
many  of  our  pretentious  ladies'  colleges  was  exposed, 
and  then  people  began  to  ask,  "  What  can  be  done  to 
remedy  this  state  of  things?  " 


ENGLISH    PROGRESS.  69 

The  Englishwoman  s  Magazine  was  started  in  1858 
by  Miss  P-arkes,  Miss  Adelaide  Procter,  Miss  Hays, 
and  a  few  other  ladies,  who  were  determined  to  keep 
the  matter  before  the  public.  Miss  Boucherett 
founded  a  society  for  the  same  purpose,  chiefly,  how 
ever,  directed  toward  promoting  the  employment  of 
women.  The  Social  Science  Association  also  called 
a  committee  to  consider  the  best  way  of  advancing 
the  interests  of  the  sex,  and  Lord  Brougham  invited 
me  to  join  its  deliberations. 

Subsequently  I  organized  in  my  own  house  a  series 
of  fortnightly  breakfast  parties  and  conferences,  for 
the  purpose  of  discussing  the  best  means  of  inducing 
the  Universities  to  admit  girls  to  their  local  examina 
tions.  Thanks  to  the  joint  exertions  of  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury,  Miss  Emily  Davis,  the  Rev.  F.  Maurice,  Canon 
Kingsley,  Lord  Lyttleton,  Mr.  Nassau  Senior,  Lord 
Houghton,  Mr.  Russell  Gurney,  and  others,  the  Uni 
versity  of  Cambridge,  in  December,  1863,  was  induced 
to  grant  "  an  experimental  examination,"  at  which 
upwards  of  ninety  girls  presented  themselves.  Shortly 
after  both  Oxford  and  Cambridge  admitted  girls  to 
their  local  examinations,  and  in  1882,  4,000  students 
were  examined  at  the  various  local  centres.  The 
Universities  of  Edinburgh,  Dublin,  Glasgow,  Aber 
deen,  Durham,  and  St.  Andrews  then  followed  the 
good  lead,  and  in  1878  the  University  of  London 
secured  a  special  charter  for  the  admission  of  women 
to  University  degrees  on  the  same  terms  and  condi 
tions  as  men.  This  is  our  only  English  University 
which  insists  on  no  conditions  of  collegiate  residence. 

Then  came  the  establishment  of  Girton  and  Newn- 
ham  Colleges  at  Cambridge.  At  first  the  University 


7O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

only  sanctioned  this  step  by  allowing  its  examiners 
to  report  on  the  students'  papers ;  about  four  years 
ago  it  consented  to  give  women  certificates  equivalent 
to  degrees. 

Oxford  for  a  long  time,  acting  on  its  traditional 
conservatism,  held  aloof,  though  two  institutions  for 
women — Lady  Margaret  Hall  and  Sommerville  Col 
lege — had  been  opened  there.  But  this  year  (1884) 
the  friends  of  the  higher  education  have  won  an  im 
portant  victory.  The  statute  framed  for  admitting 
women -to  certain  of  the  examinations  provided  for 
undergraduates  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  464  to 
321,  and  for  the  future  women  will  have  at  Oxford 
the  privileges  accorded  at  Cambridge,  Edinburgh, 
the  University  of  London,  and  elsewhere,  of  "  a  fair 
field  and  no  favor."  Degrees  will  not  be  given  at 
Oxford,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  certificates  ac 
corded  to  women  students  will  be  definite  enough  to 
give  them  a  "  marketable  value." 

The  social  dignity,  if  not  the  remuneration  of  teach 
ing,  depends  very  largely  on  such  a  stamp  of  recogni 
tion.  The  last  census  shows  that  there  are  more  than 
120,000  women  teachers  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
and  to  these  a  certificate  or  University  degree  is  cer 
tainly  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance. 

The  examinations  at  the  London  University  are 
notoriously  severe,  and  therefore  the  friends  of  the 
movement  have  reason  to  view  with  the  utmost  sat 
isfaction  the  result  of  the  examination  concluded  in 
July,  1884,  when  the  highest  distinction  yet  achieved 
by  a  woman  was  obtained  by  Miss  Dawes,  a  clergy 
man's  daughter.  Several  hundreds  have  passed  the 
matriculation  examination,  but  only  fifty  ladies  have 


UNIVERSITY    DEGREES.  Jl 

hitherto  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts, 
eight  that  of  Science,  and  three  that  of  Medicine. 
Miss  Mary  Clara  Dawes  passed  the  matriculation  ex 
amination  in  January,  1879,  aRd  gained  the  forty- 
seventh  place  in  the  Honors  division.  In  last  year's 
B.A.  examination  she  obtained  honors  in  classics,  with 
the  first  place  in  the  second  class.  This  summer  she  is 
placed  fourth  in  the  list  of  the  Masters  of  Arts  of  the 
year  who  have  taken  the  degree  in  the  first  branch  of 
examination.  Mrs.  Sophia  Bryant,  daughter  of  a 
late  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  also  obtained 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Science  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that  her  work  for  the  University  degree  has 
been  carried  on  simultaneously  for  five  years  with 
teaching  of  a  high  order,  as  mathematical  mistress  at 
the  North  London  Collegiate  School  for  Girls,  a  fact 
which  is  an  answer  to  much  of  the  current  question 
ing  as  to  overwork  for  women. 

Indeed  women  are  reaping  laurels  this  year  in  sev 
eral  important  directions ;  it  is  said  that  "  Michael 
Field"  is  but  the  nom  de plume  of  the  lady  who  has 
produced  the  poetic  dramas  "  Callirrhoe  "  and  "  Fair 
Rosamond,"  and  that  the  American  student  Mrs. 
Lucy  Mitchell,  so  well  known  to  frequenters  of  the 
British  Museum  reading-room,  and  to  the  savants  of 
Berlin,  has  just  published  one  of  the  best  books  ever 
written  on  Greek  Art. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Vassar  College — Professor  Maria  Mitchell — President  Caldwell 
— Life  of  the  students — Effect  of  study  upon  health — Im 
provements  in  the  direction  of  outdoor  amusements  between 
visits  in  1873  and  1883 — Riding,  lawn-tennis,  and  boating — 
Wellesley  College  and  its  fire-brigade  manned  by  girls- 
Mills'  Seminary,  the  Vassar  of  the  Pacific  coast — Miss  Has- 
kell  at  Godfrey — Payment  of  female  teachers  in  public  schools 
— English  governesses — Colonel  Higginson  on  the  gross  in 
justice  of  the  inequalities  existing  between  the  salaries  of  men 
and  women  teachers  in  the  United  States — Kate  Field  on  the 
difficulties  surrounding  journalism — Anna  Dickinson — The 
growing  taste  for  plays  versus  lectures. 

Miss  MARIA  MITCHELL,  to  whom  I  alluded  in  the 
last  chapter,  gave  me  my  first  invitation  to  Vassar 
College,  where  she  holds  the  position  of  Professor  of 
Astronomy  and  Director  of  the  Observatory.  Her 
reputation  in  the  New  World  is  as  deservedly  great 
as  Caroline  Herschel's  was  in  the  Old. 

I  was  not  prepared  for  the  beautiful  surroundings 
of  the  College,  which  is  charmingly  situated  on  the 
bank  of  the  magnificent  Hudson  River,  with  the  Cats- 
kill  Mountains  stretching  along  the  north  and  the 
Fishkills  on  the  south.  The  first  day  I  knocked  at  the 
portal,  on  which  I  did  not  find  the  poet's  ideal  in 
scription,  "  Let  no  man  enter  in,  on  pain  of  death," 
though  Tennyson's  "  Princess  "  had  always  been  asso 
ciated  with  my  thoughts  of  Vassar.  Nor  did  I  find 
within  the  "  academic  silks ;  in  hue  the  lilac,  with  a 
silken  hood  to  each,  and  zoned  with  gold  " — collegi- 
(72) 


VASSAR    COLLEGE.  73 

ate  costumes  so  familiar  to  playgoers  of  the  season, 
thanks  to  the  brilliant  setting  of  the  Gilbert  and  Sul 
livan  burlesque  of  the  Princess  Ida  and  her  girl  grad 
uates. 

It  was  a  bright  but  bitterly  cold  morning.  The  Ice 
King  had  set  his  seal  on  land  and  water,  the  snow 
deep  on  the  ground  at  Poughkeepsie,  and 

"  Every  pine  and  fir  and  hemlock 

Wore  ermine  too  dear  for  an  earl, 
And  the  poorest  twig  on  the  elm-tree 
Was  ridged  inch  deep  with  pearl." 

When  I  revisited  Vassar  in  1883  the  spring  was  far 
advanced,  the  atmosphere  was  balmy,  the  skies  were 
clear,  the  landscape  exquisite  in  its  early  verdure,  and 
the  sun  shone  forth  in  marvellous  splendor.  On  this 
occasion,  as  the  guest  of  the  College,  I  was  ensconced 
with  due  pomp  and  ceremony  in  the  Founder's  Room, 
with  its  quaint  old  furniture  of  the  First  Empire,  and 
the  portraits  of  various  distinguished  people  on  the 
walls,  among  them  Matthew  Vassar,  "  the  founder, 
friend,  and  father  "  of  the  College,  who  appeared  to  be 
solemnly  watching  me  as  I  entered  in  my  note-book 
before  retiring  to  rest  a  few  remarks  respecting  the 
splendid  memorial  he  left  behind  him  for  the  benefit 
of  American  girls. 

With  pardonable  pride  I  first  record  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Vassar  was  an  Englishman,  born  on  the  Norfolk 
coast.  Having  acquired  a  vast  fortune  in  America, 
he  determined  to  found  an  institution  which  should 
be  to  girls  what  Harvard  and  Yale  are  to  boys.  In 
1860  he  obtained  a  charter  from  the  Legislature  of 
New  York,  transferred  400,000  dollars  to  trustees, 
4 


74  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

chose  the  site,  and  erected  the  magnificent  building 
in  which  some  of  the  brightest  and  best  American 
women  have  spent  their  happiest  years.  .Several 
mothers  complained  to  me  that  daughters  are  always 
asking  "  to  spend  another  year  at  Vassar."  After  the 
pleasant  time  I  spent  there  with  President  and  Mrs. 
Caldwell,  and  what  I  saw  of  the  life  of  these  bright 
and  enthusiastic  girls,  I  do  not  wonder  that  they  are 
loth  to  quit  a  place  full  of  such  pleasant  companion 
ship,  happy  experiences,  and  perfect  freedom  from 
care. 

Mr.  Vassar's  munificence  did  not  end  with  his  first 
gift ;  20,000  dollars  were  expended  on  an  Art  Gallery, 
75,000  dollars  on  building  purposes,  and  at  his  death 
the  College  was  found  to  be  his  principal  inheritor. 

Some  idea  of  the  size  of  Vassar — which  stands  on 
its  own  200  acres — may  be  gathered  from  the  fact 
that,  in  the  main  building,  besides  accommodation  for 
400  students,  there  are  six  independent  dwellings  for 
the  president,  resident  professors,  rooms  for  managers 
and  100  servants,  lecture-halls,  class-rooms,  parlors,  a 
library,  dining-hall,  and  chapel.  The  laboratory  is  a 
separate  building  in  the  grounds,  and  so  is  the  observ 
atory,  containing  some  splendid  instruments,  over 
which  Professor  Maria  Mitchell  reigns  supreme.  As 
you  look  into  that  strong,  good  face,  shadowed. by 
grey  curls,  which  soften  its  outline  and  grace  it  with 
a  beauty  which  often  comes  with  age,  you  can  under 
stand  the  magnetic  sympathy  which  holds  her  youth 
ful  scholars  spellbound,  and  makes  their  scientific  in 
vestigations  full  of  delight  as  well  as  of  wonder. 

The  students  "  room  "  together  in  groups,  three  or 
four  sharing  a  pleasant  little  study,  round  which  their 


HEALTH    OF    AMERICAN    WOMEN.  75 

separate  small  but  well-ventilated  bedrooms  are  ar 
ranged,  and  these  are  furnished  according  to  individ 
ual  taste.  Pleasant  glimpses  into  character  were  af 
forded  me  of  the  owners  thereof  by  sundry  conversa 
tions  in  them.  Some  of  these  little  "  parlors  "  would 
have  even  gladdened  the  heart  of  Oscar  Wilde,  had 
he  been  permitted  to  peep  into  them — so  "  utterly 
too-too  "  are  they  in  coloring  and  furniture. 

In  speaking  on  the  health  question,  Miss  Mitchell 
and  the  doctor  in  charge  of  the  physical  well-being  of 
the  girls  at  Vassar  stated  that  those  who  studied  the 
hardest  were  the  healthiest,  and  they  did  not  hesitate 
to  attribute  the  general  delicacy  of  American  women 
to  the  terrible  severity  and  extremes  of  the  climate, 
the  mode  of  heating  the  houses,  and  the  widespread 
disinclination  to  physical  exercise,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  intemperate  use  of  iced  water.  I  may  note  here, 
that  while  inspecting  the  steward's  department  I 
learned  that  one  item  for  that  day's  dinner  was  200 
quarts  of  ice-cream.  Founder's  day  is  the  greatest  in 
the  calendar  at  Vassar ;  it  is  the  anniversary  of  Mr. 
Matthew  Vassar's  birthday.  Studies  are  laid  aside, 
and  the  evening  is  devoted  to  festivity.  Cards  of  in 
vitation  are  sent  out  weeks  previously  by  the  students, 
and  scores  of  young  gentlemen  and  friends  from  all 
parts  of  the  country  respond,  and  "a  real  elegant 
time  "  is  generally  the  result. 

There  was  an  excellent  riding-school  attached  to 
Vassar  when  I  first  went  there  in  1873,  and  I  was  very 
sorry  to  find  it  had  disappeared  ;  "  want  of  funds " 
was  the  reason  assigned.  A  welcome  was  given  to  the 
girls  at  the  Harvard  Annex  to  Dr.  Sargeant's  gym 
nasium  there,  but  so  little  advantage  was  taken  of  it 


76  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

that  he  told  me  he  was  obliged  after  a  short  time  to 
discontinue  the  classes.  Considering  that  the  physi 
cal  education  of  the  future  mothers  of  the  Republic 
is  as  important  as  the  mental,  these  facts  are  much  to 
be  regretted.  Fortunately  the  Hudson  river  and  the 
lake  in  the  Vassar  College  grounds  are  available  for 
boating  in  the  summer  and  skating  in  the  winter,  and 
many  a  student  has  achieved  honorable  distinction 
for  herself  in  handling  the  oar. 

On  the  whole,  however,  it  struck  me  during  my  last 
visit  to  America  that  a  great  improvement  had  been 
effected  generally  respecting  outdoor  healthy  amuse 
ments.  Lawn-tennis  had  become  quite  popular,  and 
many  girls  I  saw  were  expert  players.  Considerable 
rivalry  was  displayed,  not  only  in  point  of  skill,  but 
costume  ;  and  very  attractive  these  bright  American 
girls  look  in  their  tight-fitting  jerseys  and  short  skirts. 
Many  of  the  New  York  girls  ride  well,  too,  and  are 
very  particular  about  the  cut  of  their  London  habits. 
You  often  see  in  the  early  morning  parties  of  ten  and 
twelve  riding  together  in  Central  Park,  with  well- 
mounted  grooms  behind  them.  As  one  of  the  leaders 
of  society  remarked  to  me  as  we  were  driving  together, 
the  "  magnificence  of  the  horses  and  carriages  and 
sleighs  to  be  seen  at  the  fashionable  hour  is  one  of  the 
greatest  signs  of  the  growth  of  wealth  and  luxury  in 
this  republican  city."  Some  of  the  girls  frequent  the 
fencing-school,  but  are  too  much  inclined  to  be  con 
tent  with  the  simplest  movements ;  only  a  few  of  the 
more  daring  spirits  encounter  the  thrust.  "  As  soon  as 
one  of  them  makes  a  pass  they  both  run  away,"  con 
fessed  one  of  the  teachers  of  the  noble  art. 

I  was  greatly  disappointed  to  be   unable  to  visit 


WELLESLEY    COLLEGE.  77 

Wellesley  College,  but  was  fortunate  enough,  at  ex- 
Governor  Claflin's  at  Boston,  to  meet  the  president, 
a  bright,  charming  lady,  very  young  to  hold  such  a 
responsible  position,  but  one  who  is  quite  "  master  of 
the  situation."  The  College  is  open  to  all,  but  the 
severe  course  of  study  soon  weeds  out  the  stupid  and 
the  ignorant,  for  graduates  from  Wellesley  are  intend 
ed  to  rank  with  graduates  from  Harvard  and  Yale.  I 
hope  the  practical  work  in  connection  with  the  fire- 
brigade  will  never  disappear  at  Wellesley,  as  the  riding- 
school  has  at  Vassar.  The  girls  work  the  hand-pumps 
distributed  throughout  the  building,  every  pump 
having  six  pails  for  water.  Each  pump  has  a  captain 
and  a  company  of  six  girls,  who  are  drilled  in  handling 
pumps,  forming  lines,  and  passing  the  pails  of  water 
— an  excellent  discipline,  teaching  what  regular  action 
is  worth  in  the  presence  of  a  danger  unfortunately  so 
frequent  in  American  hotels  and  houses. 

Vassar,  Wellesley,  and  Smith's  Colleges  hold  the 
position  in  the  Eastern  States  that  Mills'  Seminary 
does  in  the  West.  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  day  at  the 
latter  during  my  stay  in  San  Francisco.  The  girl 
graduates  enrolled,  represent  not  only  California,  but 
even  the  Sandwich  Islands,  British  Columbia,  and 
Mexico.  Crossing  the  beautiful  bay  by  ferry,  I 
reached  Oakland,  and  was  driven,  behind  a  splendid 
pair  of  American  trotters,  through  lovely  scenery  to 
the  foot  of  the  San  Pablo  range  of  mountains.  In  a 
secluded  spot,  in  the  midst  of  the  pine,  oak,  and 
eucalyptus  trees,  for  which  this  part  of  the  world  is 
noted,  I  found  a  remarkably  imposing  building,  full  of 
eager,  vivacious  Western  girls  at  the  most  restless, 
assertive  age,  every  one  of  them  with  some  unlived 


78  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

• 

romance  in  her  heart.  It  appeared  marvellous  that 
such  perfect  discipline  should  be  maintained.  The 
whole  thing  seemed  to  go  like  clockwork,  though  it  is 
not  easy  to  understand  how  all  those  throbbing  heart 
strings  are  kept  wound  up  and  in  order.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  over-estimate  the  value  of  such  an  institu 
tion  on  the  Pacific  coast,  nor  the  magnanimity  of  its 
founder,  Mrs.  Mills.  Never  had  girls  finer  opportuni 
ties  for  study  in  the  midst  of  surroundings  more  at 
tractive. 

Nor  can  I  forget  while  writing  about  colleges  for 
girls  the  two  days  I  spent  at  the  Monticello  Seminary 
at  Godfrey,  about  twenty  miles  from  St.  Louis.  I 
think  if  any  one  asked  me  to  name  one  of  the  u  best 
times  "  I  had  during  my  last  trip  to  America,  I  should 
unhesitatingly  reply,  "  the  hours  I  spent  with  Miss 
Haskell  at  Monticello."  Endowed  with  a  fine  per 
sonal  presence,  which  might  be  too  imposing  but  for 
the  genial  manner  and  sweet  womanliness  of  her  nature, 
Miss  Haskell's  boundless  share  of  genuine  humor 
carries  the  stranger's  heart  into  instant  and  willing 
captivity.  Seldom  have  I  met  with  any  one  whose 
influence  was  so  magnetic  and  healthy.  She  has  one 
of  those  rare  and  beautiful  natures  which  seems  at 
once  to  bring  out  all  the  good  in  those  with  whom 
she  comes  in  contact.  Fortunate  indeed  are  the  girls 
who  find  themselves  placed  under  the  beneficent  care 
of  this  intellectual  woman,  who,  in  spite  of  her  vast 
learning  and  grave  responsibilities,  retains  such  a  buoy 
ant  youthful  nature,  that  when  the  hour  comes  for 
throwing  down  the  reins  of  government,  and  promot 
ing  the  wholesome  fun,  which  is  so  important  an  item 
in  a  girl's  well-being,  the  youngest  student  in  the  Col- 


THE    SALARIES    OF    TEACHERS.  /9 

lege  does  not  enter  into  any  admissible  frolic  with 
keener  zest  than  its  wise  and  cultured  principal.  Miss 
Haskell  is  still  the  leader,  for  she  is  the  heart  and  soul 
of  the  entertainment,  the  merriest  spirit  in  all  the 
happy  throng. 

The  system  of  co-education  admits  of  discussion, 
but  there  is  no  question  whatever  about  the  ad 
vantages  of  such  colleges  as  these,  when  every  effort 
has  been  made  to  raise  them  to  the  height  of  great 
educational  institutions.  Their  endowments  and 
gifted  professors  give  them  a  distinct  prestige,  and 
can  not  fail  to  educate  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
teach  them  to  realize  the  benefit  of  full  collegiate  ad 
vantages  for  women. 

I  was  somewhat  curious  to  ascertain  if  ordinary 
women  teachers  in  America  suffered  as  much  as  Eng 
lish  women  do  from  want  of  adequate  salaries.  I 
fear  it  is  so,  and  there  seems  yet  the  opportunity  for 
an  honorable  rivalship  in  seeing  which  country  shall 
first  rate  a  woman's  work  at  its  true  value.  In 
America  teachers  are  more  trusted  ;  they  are  certainly 
in  great  request,  and  their  work  is  excellent ;  but, 
thanks  to  tradition  and  prejudice,  they  are  still  un 
der-paid.  I  read  in  one  place  of  the  preference  for 
female  teachers  "  on  the  score  of  their  cheapness,  as 
well  as  on  the  ground  of  their  general  efficiency." 
Another  report  declared,  "  We  demand  and  receive 
the  best  talent,  and  lavish  on  it  per  diem  a  sum 
scarcely  equal  to  the  amount  paid  to  the  washer 
woman."  The  average  salaries  of  women  teachers  in 
Vermont  range  from  eight  dollars  per  month  (with 
board)  to  $750  a  year,  those  of  men  from  twenty  dol 
lars  a  month  to  $1,600  a  year.  A  teacher,  in  speak- 


8O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ing  of  this  matter  to  me,  said,  "  We  are  expected  to 
work  with  alacrity,  give  up  our  time,  be  well  posted 
in  every  subject,  dress  like  ladies,  and  accept  a  salary 
which  a  French  cook  would  scorn."  In  the  grammar- 
schools  the  male  principals  receive  3,000  dollars  per 
annum,  and  vice-principals  2,500,  the  women  occupy 
ing  a  similar  position  receiving  2,000  and  1,200  dol 
lars,  and  yet  the  work  is  as  onerous  for  a  woman  as 
for  a  man.  To  be  successful,  a  school-teacher  must 
have  equal  physical  and  mental  energy,  the  women 
require  the  same  preparatory  training,  pass  the  same 
examinations,  teach  the  same  number  of  hours,  the 
work  calls  from  them  the  same  entire  devotion ;  it 
does  not  only  mean  teaching,  but  the  far  higher  task 
of  shaping  careless,  dull  children  into  intelligent  men 
and  women,  and  the  still  more  delicate  work  of  guid 
ing  the  lawless  and  precocious.  The  question  of 
marriage,  which  is  often  assigned  as  the  reason  of 
higher  payment  in  the  case  of  men,  is  quite  irrele 
vant.  The  men  are  paid  more  whether  they  are 
married  or  single,  and  women  are  paid  less,  though 
they  may  be  widows  with  families  to  support.  Peo 
ple  are  perhaps  beginning  to  be  ashamed  of  advanc 
ing  the  argument  often  heard  in  times  past  in  Eng 
land,  viz.,  that  women  are  less  extravagant  in  their 
habits,  and  require  less  food,  etc.,  than  men.  But 
only  the  other  day  the  daughter  of  a  British  officer — 
a  thoroughly  qualified  governess — told  me  that  she 
had  offered  her  services  in  that  capacity  to  a  lady, 
who  replied,  "  I  shall  be  glad  to  engage  you  to  teach 
my  children  in  return  for  a  comfortable  home,  as  you 
must  have  a  pension  sufficient  for  your  requirements 
without  salary."  Who  would  dare  to  propose  such  a 


WANT    OF    TRAINING.  8 1 

thing  to  a  man?  Our  very  servants  and  charwomen 
are  thought  worthy  of  their  hire,  but  it  is  more  diffi 
cult  than  people  generally  suppose  for  educated 
women  to  obtain  justice. 

I  was  both  surprised  and  pained  to  see  the  follow 
ing  advertisement  in  the  New  York  Tribune  a  few 
months  ago,  for  I  had  hoped  American  women  would 
never  reach  this  extremity  :  "  A  lone  lady  of  culture 
would  give  her  time  in  reading,  writing  for,  and 
otherwise  conducing  to  the  happiness  and  interest  of 
a  lady  of  means, —  for  a  home."  It  is  true  that  young 
men  in  both  our  countries  have  nowadays  to  en 
counter  keen  competition,  but  there  is  no  class  of 
men  compelled  to  offer  intellectual  service  in  return 
for  food  and  shelter. 

The  inequality  in  the  salaries  of  the  sexes  reminds 
me  of  Colonel  Higginson's  observation  to  me  when 
wre  were  once  discussing  the  same  subject  at  Boston. 
He  naively  remarked,  "  Like  Charles  Lamb,  who 
atoned  for  coming  so  late  to  his  office  in  the  morning 
by  leaving  it  early  in  the  afternoon,  we  have  in  the 
United  States  first  half  educated  the  women,  and 
then,  to  restore  the  balance,  only  half  paid  them." 

Since  these  words  were  spoken  much  has  been  done 
to  remedy  the  first  injustice ;  and  most  assuredly  the 
day  will  come  when  competent  teachers  will  be  paid 
for  competent  work  irrespective  of  sex. 

That  winter  Anna  Dickinson  was  lecturing  on 
"What's  to  Hinder?"  in  which  she  maintained  that 
men  received  large  salaries  because  they  earned  them, 
while  women  get  a  small  salary,  and  half  the  time  do 
not  earn  that !  This  she  attributed  to  the  poor  nature 
of  their  work  generally.  She  did  not,  to  my  mind,  lay 
4* 


82  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

quite  sufficient  stress  upon  the  reason  which  accounts 
for  women's  shortcomings  in  all  directions  of  work, 
namely,  the  want  of  due  training,  though  she  admitted 
that  while  "  public  opinion  "  makes  it  pre-eminently 
dishonorable  for  a  man  to  be  idle,  it  not  only  stimu 
lates  the  love  of  ease  in  women,  but  binds  them  hand 
and  foot,  to  prevent  them  from  working.  "  If  a 
woman  has  to  work,"  she  continued,  "  let  her  choose 
her  work,  learn  her  work,  and  know  her.work,  and  the 
world  will  doff  its  cap,  and  acknowledge  her  true 
worth."  • 

The  recognition,  as  far  as  equal  wages  are  con 
cerned,  has  not  yet  come,  and  that  is  a  recognition 
which  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  The  very  day 
after  hearing  Miss  Dickinson's  lecture  I  visited  the 
office  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  in 
Broadway ;  there,  the  lady-superintendent,  although 
her  ability  is  indisputable,  was  in  receipt  of  a  consider 
ably  lower  salary  than  would  be  offered  to  a  man  under 
the  same  circumstances.  Among  the  operators  was 
one  who  had  learned  the  business  in  Russia  and  spoke 
several  languages,  and  was  consequently  often  appealed 
to  by  the  authorities  in  the  masculine  department ; 
nevertheless,  she  was  not  paid  a  higher  salary  than 
the  rest,  and  I  am  convinced  it  is  this  want  of  legiti 
mate  reward  which  depresses  women  in  the  various 
occupations  they  take  up.  Even  in  literature  women 
are  sometimes  handicapped  by  sex.  I  was  told  on 
authority  I  could  not  doubt,  that  a  well-known  Ameri 
can  authoress,  having  always  conducted  her  business 
by  correspondence  with  the  firm  that  published  her 
books,  was  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  lords  of  crea 
tion,  and  paid  accordingly.  When  her  sex  was  acci- 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    WOMEN    JOURNALISTS.        83 

dentally  discovered,  the  payments  were  reduced.  In 
the  lecture-field,  Anna  Dickinson,  however,  was  a  re 
markable  illustration  that  the  higher  arts  are  often  as 
just  in  their  rewards  to  women  as  to  men.  Patti  and 
Christine  Nilsson  are  certainly  as  well  paid  as  any 
male  singer.  The  "  leading  lady"  of  a  theatrical  com 
pany  often  receives  a  higher  salary  than  "  the  leading 
man,"  and  the  same  applies  as  a  rule  to  literature, 
though  by  no  means  to  journalism. 

Miss  Kate  Field  has  recently  expressed  herself  so 
definitely  as  to  the  difficulties  a  woman  journalist  ex 
periences,  that  I  shall  quote  her  opinion  here,  as  her 
means  of  forming  a  correct  view  in  this  particular 
direction  in  her  own  country  far  exceed  my  own : 

"  In  journalism  woman's  opportunity  is  vastly  inferior  to  man's. 
I  know  of  women  who  are  strong  editorial  writers,  but  their  sex 
is  their  crime.  Women,  as  a  rule,  are  not  favorites  in  newspaper 
offices,  though  Miss  Nelly  Hutchinson,  of  the  New  York  Tribune, 
whose  services  are  invaluable,  is,  I  believe,  thoroughly  appreci 
ated.  She  is  an  exception  to  the  rule.  Women  are  accepted  as 
correspondents,  but  otherwise  they  have  little  chance  as  journal 
ists.  A  reporter  must  go  everywhere  at  all  hours ;  woman  can 
not  then  be  an  ordinary  reporter.  There  is  no  reason  why  she 
should  not  be  a  literary  critic,  and,  on  evening  papers  there  is 
no  good  reason  why  she  should  not  be  a  musical  and  dramatic 
critic  ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  she  rarely  is  given  the  opportunity. 

"  In  literature  proper,  I  should  say  the  woman  of  genius  has  an 
equal  chance  with  the  man  of  genius ;  that  the  woman  of  less 
than  genius  has  inferior  training  than  man,  and  hence  is  at  a  dis 
advantage.  In  journalism  a  woman's  sex  is  her  misfortune,  and 
nothing  but  undaunted  pluck  can  obtain  for  her  what  is  within 
easy  reach  of  less  able  men — remember  that  I  refer  to  daily 
journalism.  Miss  Mary  L.  Booth  is  a  shining  example  of  woman's 
success  in  editing  a  weekly  paper.  Mrs.  Frank  Leslie  can  not 
fairly  be  placed  in  the  same  category,  as  she  inherited  Frank 


84  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Leslie's  publications  from  her  husband  ;  but  the  masterly  manner 
in  which  she  has  resuscitated  them  from  old  creditors,  and  turned 
bankrupt  stock  into  a  yearly  income  of  $100,000  and  more,  proves 
what  woman  can  do  even  in  the  finance  of  weekly  journalism." 

Miss  Dickinson's  own  career  was  unique.  The  first 
thing  that  struck  you  when  you  looked  at  her  face, 
surrounded  by  a  mass  of  raven-black  curly  hair,  was 
the  extreme  power,  passion,  and  spirited  beauty  of 
the  dark  flashing  eyes,  and  her  whole  physique  de 
noted  great  nervous  power.  At  one  time  she  was  a 
teacher  in  a  school,  and  then  the  fastest  adjuster  in  the 
United  States  Mint.  At  the  invitation  of  William 
Lloyd  Garrison  she  addressed  a  New  England  meet 
ing  from  Theodore  Parker's  pulpit,  and  her  magnetic 
power  over  her  audience  was  so  great,  that  she  was 
requested  to  give  a  course  of  political  lectures,  which 
were  afterward  described  as  "  galvanizing  the  despond 
ing  loyalists  to  life  " — a  march  of  "  triumph  ending  in 
a  complete  republican  victory."  From  that  time  Anna 
Dickinson's  position  as  an  orator  was  secure,  and  she 
received  for  many  years  a  larger  income  than  any 
other  regular  lecturer.  Latterly  Miss  Dickinson  en 
deavored  to  obtain  dramatic  laurels,  to  the  great 
regret  of  most  of  her  friends,  and  much  to  the  loss  of 
the  lecture-goers.  Whatever  may  be  her  title  to  favor 
as  an  actress,  I  can  not  say,  not  having  had  the  chance 
of  seeing  her  in  this  capacity,  but  there  is  no  question 
as  to  her  skill  as  a  playwright !  Her  "  Anne  Boleyn  " 
is  a  tragedy  full  of  powerful  situations  from  beginning 
to  end.  When  I  last  saw  Miss  Dickinson  at  the  Palmer 
House,  Chicago,  in  March,  1884,  she  had  been  con 
fined  to  her  room  for  weeks  with  a  nervous  illness ; 
but  her  want  of  "  fair  play  "  on  the  stage  had  not 


PLAYS  VERSUS  LECTURES.          85 

daunted  her,  and  her  conversation  was  as  piquant, 
vital,  and  magnetic  as  ever.  I  was  glad  to  hear  that 
she  intended,  as  soon  as  her  strength  permitted,  to 
return  to  her  work  as  a  lecturer,  where  she  will  doubt 
less  soon  regain  the  position  she  abandoned  for  the 
stage,  although  the  platform  will  never  be  as  popular 
as  of  old.  The  American  people  have  ceased  to  sup 
port  the  literary  institutes  as  they  did  ten  years  ago  ; 
the  vital  questions  which  once  occupied  the  attention 
of  the  speakers  and  audiences  have  received  their 
solution,  those  that  now  arise  are  discussed  elsewhere. 
The  public,  as  a  rule,  asks  for  amusement,  not  instruc 
tion.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Cook,  who  is  regarded  as  a 
"  leading  local  light  "  on  the  American  platform,  had 
but  poor  support  throughout  the  country  during  this 
last  lecture  season.  A  Buffalo  paper  stated  that  only 
$112  remained  after  paying  expenses,  and  an  appeal 
was  issued  to  make  up  the  amount  to  $500.  Even 
the  most  popular  speakers  are  forced  to  be  contented 
with  smaller  fees  and  smaller  audiences,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  Colonel  Ingersoll,  who  can  fill  the  huge 
Music  Hall  at  Chicago  from  floor  to  ceiling,  and  whose 
progress  through  the  West  this  winter  was  certainly 
most  remarkable.  Whether  people  sympathize  or  not 
with  his  attacks  on  "  Orthodoxy,"  they  at  least  have 
given  his  opinions  a  wide  and  impartial  hearing 
throughout  the  country. 

The  travelling  theatrical  company,  however,  now 
penetrates  into  regions  where  once  the  lecturer  was 
the  only  joy, — the  one  link  with  the  great  world  be 
yond.  If  they  clash,  the  playactors  have  a  full  house 
and  the  lecturer  stands  dismayed  before  a  row  of 
empty  benches.  Of  course  there  are  exceptions  to 


86  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

this  rule,  and  I  for  one  have  no  cause  to  complain  of 
the  kind  welcome  given  me  in  most  of  the  Institutes 
I  spoke  in  during  my  last  visit ;  but  the  following 
squib  from  an  American  paper  represents  the  change 
of  opinion  which  has  taken  place  of  late  years  in  re 
gard  to  this  once  popular  form  of  entertainment, — 
a  change  Transatlantic  cousins  do  not  hesitate  to 
ascribe  to  the  introduction  of  English  lecturers : 
"  Many  persons,  in  addition  to  denying  themselves 
their  usual  luxuries,  believe  in  self-immolation,  and 
compel  themselves  to  suffer  as  many  inflictions  as 
possible.  For  this  class  a  lecture  course  is  provided." 


CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Quaker  city — Changes  in  society — School  of  Young  Lady 
Potters — New  Century  Club — The  Mint,  and  women  em 
ployed  in  it — Theatres  and  English  artists — Silk  culture — Mr. 
George  W.  Childs,  the  Ledger,  and  his  work-people — Woot- 
ton  — Original  manuscripts  and  autographs — Walt  Whitman  : 
his  views  on  New  York,  Boston,  Washington,  and  the  West 
— Mrs.  Hannah  Smith  and  the  Temperance  Union — Coffee 
houses. 

THE  "  Quaker  city  "  may  certainly  pride  itself  on 
being  one  of  the  finest  in  the  States,  but  the  Phila- 
delphians,  though  they  glory  in  their  historical  relics, 
are  just  now  sweeping  away  many  of  their  pictur 
esque  houses,  and  replacing  them  with  some  glaring 
new  red  brick  and  marble  blocks,  which  certainly  do 
not  represent  the  highest  type  of  architectural  beauty. 
The  Slate  Roof  House,  with  its  traditions  of  Penn, 
has  gone  within  the  last  few  years,  and  the  Franklin 
Library  has  been  upholstered  in  the  newest  fashion, 
and  now  the  house  in  which  Jefferson  was  supposed 
to  have  written  the  Declaration  is  being  destroyed.  A 
change,  too,  has  come  over  "  society."  Once  this 
was  the  city  in  which  family  antecedents  were  prized 
most  highly,  but  now  wealth  has  fought  its  way,  and 
even  the  exclusive  Assembly  Balls  have  changed  their 
character.  The  very  names  of  some  of  the  streets 
have  been  altered,  though  the  principal  ones  still  bear 
the  titles  bestowed  by  the  founder  of  the  city,  Wal 
nut  Street,  Chestnut  Street,  Vine  Street,  Mulberry 

(87) 


88  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Street,  etc.,  taking  their  names  from  the  abundance 
of  the  trees  which  used  to  flourish  in  them. 

But  in  spite  of  all  changes  Philadelphia  retains  a 
very  high  position,  and  many  of  the  innovations 
which  are  to  be  met  with  daily  in  cities  like  New 
York  and  Baltimore  are  not  tolerated  here.  For  in 
stance,  "  society  ladies  "  do  not  attempt  to  paint  their 
faces  and  improve  their  natural  charms,  after  the 
fashion  set  by  many  of  their  sisters  in  other  places. 
A  leading  doctor  in  Philadelphia  told  me  that  a  Bal 
timore  lady  who  was  staying  here  lately  attempted 
to  walk  down  Chestnut  Street  as  she  did  at  home, 
but  found  herself  subjected  to  comments  which  were 
far  from  pleasant,  and  was  obliged  to  abandon  the 
rouge  which  she  could  indulge  in  freely  elsewhere,  as 
she  was  fortunately  unwilling  to  place  herself  in  a 
mistaken  position.  The  Quaker  leaven  still  works 
with  good  results,  though  many  old  customs  have 
been  laid  aside  with  the  slate-colored  bonnets,  cloaks, 
and  old-fashioned  prejudices.  A  healthy  spirit  of 
activity  and  desire  for  mental  culture  prevails,  and 
the  Philadelphia  ladies  are  first  and  foremost  in  all 
good  works. 

A  most  interesting  sight  can  be  obtained  by  a  visit 
to  the  School  of  Young  Lady  Potters,  which  is  just 
now  affording  an  admirable  outlet  for  artistic  tenden 
cies.  There  you  find  a  number  of  bright-looking 
girls,  in  appropriate  costumes  of  long-sleeved  ging 
ham  aprons,  modelling  church  cornices  or  capitals  for 
pillars,  in  the  first  place,  then  advancing  to  the  full- 
length  figure.  Here  also  the  students  are  taught  the 
chemistry  of  colors  and  anatomy,  and  find  not  only 
a  delightful  occupation,  but  a  very  remunerative  one. 


THE   MINT.  89 

The  ladies,  too,  have  founded  an  excellent  club, 
which  under  the  name  of  "  The  New  Century  Club," 
not  only  affords  a  pleasant  place  for  social  gatherings 
and  entertainments,  but  supplies  a  centre  for  all  in 
terested  in  women's  work  and  welfare.  Directly  I 
arrived  "  The  New  Century  Club  "  gave  me  a  delight 
ful  reception,  at  which  I  met  most  of  the  representa 
tive  women  in  Philadelphia  —  doctors,  chemists, 
teachers,  students,  artists,  journalists,  and  wealthy 
ladies  who  are  interested  in  all  that  belongs  to  social 
progress. 

Valuable  practical  work  goes  on  in  connection  with 
this  Club,  which  doubtless  lies  at  the  bottom  of  its 
success.  Various  committees  have  been  formed  for 
helping  those  who  need  advice  and  aid.  For  example, 
an  association  is  at  work  for  the  "  Legal  Protection 
of  Working  Women,"  which  gives  clearer  ideas  to 
those  engaged  in  toil  of  the  legal  character  of  con 
tracts,  and  helps  them  to  a  proper  conception  of  busi 
ness  relations — undertakes  to  look  into  disputes,  and 
to  protect  its  members  in  cases  of  difficulty.  Nor  is 
the  art  of  cooking  neglected,  though  music,  literary 
work,  etc.,  come  within  the  scope  of  the  Club's  la 
bors.  The  fifth  year  of  its  existence  has  just  come 
to  an  end,  and  in  spite  of  its  having  improved  quar 
ters,  it  can  close  its  report  with  the  satisfactory  state 
ment  of  "  no  debts  "  but  cash  in  hand. 

I  spent  a  very  interesting  morning  in  the  Mint,  the 
superintendent,  Colonel  Snowden,  kindly  enabling  our 
party  to  see  the  entire  process  under  specially  favor 
able  circumstances.  We  first  inspected  the  Deposit 
Weighing  Room,  where  all  the  precious  metals  are 
received  and  weighed  ;  then  we  were  admitted  to  the 


90  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

vault  with  its  double  iron  doors  defying  the  burglar's 
art,  in  which  are  kept  the  bars  of  gold  and  silver  and 
the  plate  which  is  sent  to  be  converted  into  coin  by 
those  who  need  to  part  with  their  treasures  for  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  we  listened  to  some  sad  stories 
from  the  chief  official  in  this  department  about  the 
destitute  ladies  who  come  to  sell  their  precious  relics, 
showing  that  life  goes  as  hardly  with  the  women  of 
this  country  sometimes  as  it  does  at  home.  Then 
came  the  Melting  Room  with  its  fiery  furnaces,  and 
the  Rooms  of  the  Refiners,  who  cast  the  metals  into 
ingots  or  small  bars,  and  the  Rolling  Room  ;  but  the 
process  which  interested  me  most  was  naturally  the 
Adjusting  Room,  in  which  seventy-five  women  sat 
before  sensitive  adjusting  assay  scales,  in  leather 
aprons,  one  end  tacked  to  the  table  and  fastened 
under  their  arms  to  catch  any  gold  that  might  fall. 
Each  operator  has  a  fine  flat  file,  and  takes  a  planchet 
from  a  pile  by  her  side  and  puts  it  in  the  scales.  The 
work,  though  monotonous,  looked  easy,  but  much 
skill,  I  was  told,  is  required  in  filing  the  coin  to  pre 
vent  waste  or  error.  A  number  of  women  were  also 
in  the  Coining  Room,  in  which  were  several  coining 
presses,  coining  from  80  to  120  coins  a  minute.  The 
ladies  employed  in  the  Mint  are  well  cared  for  in 
many  directions,  but  their  rate  of  payment  can  not 
be  considered  very  high  for  a  Government  office,  as 
it  only  amounts  to  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  day. 

A  great  excitement  has  been  caused  here  recently 
by  the  arrest  of  some  miscreants  who  were  stealing 
bodies  from  Lebanon  Cemetery  for  dissection  at  Jef 
ferson  Medical  College.  It  appears  that  the  horrible 
system  of  "  body-snatching  "  is  still  being  kept  up, 


WOMF.N  S    SILK    CULTURE    ASSOCIATION.          9! 

and  three  doctors  have  been  implicated  and  indicted 
through  the  action  of  the  Philadelphia  Press,  which 
has  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  this  ghastly  business. 

Until  this  year  (1883)  theatrical  ventures  have  never 
been  very  successful  in  this  city ;  but  during  this  sea 
son  a  decided  change  has  set  in,  and  all  the  theatres 
have  flourished.  Mrs.  Langtry  has  attracted  the 
largest  audiences  ever  known,  in  spite  of  the  most 
cruelly  severe  newspaper  criticisms  I  ever  read  on  her 
private  character  and  capabilities  as  an  actress,  though 
it  must,  of  course,  be  acknowledged  that  she  chal 
lenged  observation  in  both  directions.  A  year  later  I 
found  Mr.  Irving  and  Mr.  Wyndham  were  dividing 
the  theatrical  honors  of  Philadelphia  between  them, 
one  being  the  novelty  of  the  season,  the  other  an  es 
tablished  favorite  throughout  the  States.  It  seemed 
quite  strange  to  see  so  many  familiar  English  faces 
dotted  about  the  hotel  dining-room,  and  the  eager 
interchange  of  English  newspapers  was  quite  a  feature 
of  a  "  trip  "  in  the  elevator,  in  which  some  member  of 
the  English  contingent  was  sure  to  be  found  between 
ten  A.M.  and  six  o'clock.  Mr.  Wyndham  added  not  a 
little  to  the  pleasant  week  we  spent  at  the  Continen 
tal  Hotel  by  sundry  pleasant  breakfasts  and  dinners. 

I  was  very  pleased  with  the  success  achieved  by 
the  Women's  Silk  Culture  Association ;  after  nearly 
three  years'  work  it  seems  to  have  established  itself 
on  a  permanent  basis,  and  executes  large  orders  for 
the  reeling  of  silk  from  the  cocoon.  Many  pupils 
have  attended  the  school  and  been  taught  the  process 
of  hatching  silkworm  eggs  and  rearing  insects,  and  then 
they  have  gone  into  other  cities  to  introduce  the  new 
enterprise,  which  promises  to  prove  an  important 


92  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

source  of  remunerative  occupation  in  the  United 
States.  At  first  the  Association  commenced  without 
a  properly  constructed  reel,  but  one  has  now  been 
constructed  of  cast-iron,  which  produces  excellent 
results,  running  off  four  skeins  of  silk  at  one  time — 
the  process  only  needing  careful  attention,  and  being 
easily  acquired.  Every  energy  is  employed  to  develop 
this  industry  by  the  planting  of  mulberry-trees,  and 
great  attention  has  been  given  to  the  value  of  Osage 
orange  leaves  as  food  for  silkworms ;  and  as  these 
trees  abound  in  this  country  there  is  no  necessity  for 
deferring  the  raising  of  the  silkworm  on  account  of 
food.  An  interesting  experiment  was  made  lately  in 
this  direction.  Mrs.  Van  Dusen  presented  the  Asso 
ciation  with  eighteen  ounces  of  cocoons  raised  on 
Osage  orange  leaves,  which  were  reeled  into  six  and 
a  half  ounces  of  silk,  and  Rossmasster  and  Itschner, 
the  well-known  Philadelphia  silk  manufacturers,  dyed 
it  a  beautiful  crimson  ;  and  the  ribbon  made  from 
this  silk  was  pronounced  most  satisfactory.  Young 
ladies  are  specially  urged  to  learn  the  reeling,  on  the 
ground  that  it  belongs  to  the  fine  arts  ;  and  certainly 
many  in  Philadelphia  are  thus  able  to  support  them 
selves,  and  I  was  told  of  one  who  had  started  for 
Florida  in  order  to  establish  a  school  there,  a  relative 
having  purchased  land  and  planted  trees  while  she 
was  studying  in  this  excellent  institution  in  Chestnut 
Street.  The  recent  exhibition  has  given  a  great  im 
petus  to  the  work,  the  whole  process  of  silk  culture 
having  been  shown,  from  the  egg,  the  tiny  worm,  the 
cocoon,  to  the  reeling  and  weaving  of  the  beautiful 
fabric. 

Many  of  my  pleasant  recollections  of  Philadelphia 


GEORGE    W.    CHILDS.  93 

are  due  to  the  unfailing  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  W. 
Childs,  the  proprietor  of  the  Ledger,  who  invariably 
entertains  with  princely  hospitality  the  passing  travel 
ler.  Mr.  Childs  is  naturally  proud  of  the  fact  that  he 
started  in  life  without  a  dollar,  and  with  no  friends 
but  his  own  untiring  industry  and  stout  heart.  To 
day  he  is  one  of  the  millionaires  of  America,  and  few 
have  forwarded  public  enterprises  or  aided  private 
charities  with  a  more  liberal  hand. 

The  Ledger,  a  prosperous  commercial  journal,  uni 
versally  respected,  is  published  in  a  splendid  printing- 
office,  built  at  a  cost  of  half  a  million  of  dollars.  Out 
side,  at  each  corner,  is  a  marble  fountain,  which  fur 
nishes  water  to  the  thirsty  wayfarer  ;  within  are  not 
only  well-ventilated  rooms,  but  baths  have  been  built 
in  different  parts  of  the  office,  which  are  much  prized 
by  the  printers.  Everything  moves  like  clockwork, 
the  division  of  labor,  from  the  "  printer's  devil "  to 
the  editor,  being  the  result  of  the  same  masterly  dis 
crimination  which  enabled  the  owner  to  amass  his  own 
enormous  fortune.  I  was  greatly  interested  in  Mr. 
Childs's  plans  for  placing  life  insurances  within  the 
reach  of  his  employe's,  and  the  small  houses  and  gar 
dens  his  arrangements  enable  them  to  purchase  for 
themselves,  and  finally  their  interest  in  a  "  burial  lot  " 
which  he  has  provided  for  the  time  when  life's  fitful 
fever  is  o'er. 

Before  Mr.  Childs  owned  the  Ledger  it  often  con 
tained  the  feeble,  heartless  jokes  usually  indulged  in 
at  the  expense  of  women  in  general,  and  old  maids 
and  mothers-in-law  in  particular.  It  is  his  boast  that 
never  since  the  day  it  passed  into  his  hands  has  a  sin 
gle  innuendo  even  against  a  woman  ever  appeared  in  it. 


94  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Childs  spend  a  great  part  of  the  year 
at  their  lovely  country-place,  "  Wootton  ";  to  this  is 
attached  a  model  farm,  a  source  of  special  interest  to 
Mrs.  Childs,  who  herself  supplied  the  plans  of  some 
of  the  farm-buildings,  thus  securing  a  special  kind  of 
rural  architecture  which  she  thought  best  suited  to 
their  surroundings.  The  town  residence  in  Walnut 
Street  is  full  of  Art  treasures  of  all  kinds.  Original 
manuscripts  of  books  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  Bry 
ant,  Lowell,  Edgar  A.  Poe,  James  Fenimore  Cooper, 
Bulwer's  Pilgrims  of  the  Rhine,  Charles  Dickens's  Our 
Mutual  Friend,  and  many  others.  Here,  too,  is  Lord 
Byron's  writing-desk,  and  many  rare  and  valuable 
relics,  together  with  autograph  letters  from  most  of 
the  distinguished  men  and  women  of  the  age. 

Although  I  knew  Walt  Whitman  was  living  near 
Philadelphia,  I  was  scarcely  prepared  to  find  him  the 
cherished  guest  in  a  Quaker  family  of  the  strictest 
total  abstinence  and  anti-tobacco  persuasion,  or  as  the 
loved  centre  of  a  group  of  admiring  girls  just  fresh 
from  college ;  and  yet  that  was  the  manner  of  my 
introduction  to  the  strange  poet  who  has  shocked  the 
susceptibilities  of  the  English-speaking  race  by  the 
freedom  with  which  he  has  glorified  the  body  and  all 
that  appertains  to  man's  physical  life.  I  shall,  how 
ever,  never  forget  the  delightful  hours  spent  in  the ' 
society  of  this  most  eccentric  genius.  I  fancy  Walt 
Whitman  must  resemble  Socrates,  with  his  grand, 
massive  head,  his  flowing  white  hair  and  shaggy 
beard,  his  open,  Byronic  collar  adding  to  his  weird 
but  venerable  appearance.  He  certainly  follows  the 
ancient  philosopher's  lead  by  starting  grave  discus 
sions,  which  are  by  no  means  treated  from  a  surface 


WALT    WHITMAN.  95 

point  of  view,  and  in  which  every  one  present  is  ex 
pected  to  take  a  fair  share.  His  young  disciples,  on 
the  occasion  in  question,  were  nothing  loth  to  con 
tribute  their  quota.  Young  America  does  not  sit  at 
the  master's  feet  and  worship ;  it  has  definite  opin 
ions,  which  it  deems  as  much  deserving  of  hearing  as 
other  people's,  and  it  gives  them  forth  with  the  bold 
confidence  born  of  youthful  inexperience  and  imma 
turity.  Many  were  the  topics  which  arose  that  day 
during  the  prolonged  dinner,  and  the  able  arguments 
pro  and  con.,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  contributors 
being  Dr.  Buck,  the  head  of  the  Canadian  State  In 
sane  Asylum  ;  the  subjects  ranged  from  ancient  and 
modern  religion,  the  morality  of  the  old  gods,  to  the 
battle  now  raging  in  the  States  respecting  co-educa 
tion. 

Walt  Whitman  was  also  very  anxious  to  impress 
upon  me  that  the  grand  receptions  tendered  in  all 
large  cities  to  distinguished  English  visitors  failed  to 
give  any  idea  of  the  "  purport  "  of  this  grand  Repub 
lic.  In  Europe,  he  admitted,  the  best  flavor  and  sig 
nificance  of  the  race  may  be  looked  for  in  its  upper 
classes  ;  here,  he  declares,  the  rule  is  reversed,  and  the 
"  pulse-beats  of  the  nation  are  never  to  be  found  in 
thesure-to-be-put-forward-on-such-occasions-citizens!" 
In  fact,  what  passes  current  as  " society"  is  to  him 
"  dangerously  noisome  and  vapory,"  while  inexhaust 
ible  supplies  of  true  gold  ore  can  be  found  in 
"America's  general  humanity."  New  York,  perhaps, 
promises  something  out  of  her  tremendous  and 
varied  material ;  but  Boston,  "  with  its  bloodless 
Unitarianism  and  its  circle  of  mummies,  its  compla 
cent  vanity  of  scientism  and  literature,  mere  gram- 


96  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

matical  correctness " — poor  Boston  gives  Mr.  Walt 
Whitman  no  satisfaction  whatever.  "And  look  at 
Washington,"  he  cried ;  "  it  is  full  of  a  sort  of  high 
life  below  stairs.  No  farce  can  be  funnier  than  the 
crowds  bowing  before  our  Presidents  and  their  wives, 
the  Cabinet  officers  and  Senators — our  representatives 
born  of  good  laboring,  mechanic,  or  farm  stock  ante 
cedents  attempting  full-dress  receptions,  foreign  cere 
monies  and  etiquettes — it  is  ridiculous  !  "  He  was, 
however,  somewhat  quieted  in  his  mind  as  to  the 
chances  I  had  of  coming  to  some  right  conclusion 
about  his  country  when  he  heard  that  my  programme 
included  visits  to  Colorado,  Texas,  and  California. 
He  told  me  he  was  contemplating  the  publication  of 
a  poem  as  a  companion  to  "  Leaves  of  Grass,"  based 
upon  the  experiences  of  old  age.  Dr.  Buck  is  one  of 
Walt  Whitman's  most  ardent  followers,  and  certainly 
there  is  a  personal  magnetism  about  this  rugged  bard 
which  makes  itself  felt ;  and  though  he  is  sprung 
from  what  we  may  term  "the  people,"  he  is  certainly 
a  cultured  man.  Walt  Whitman  is  a  deep  thinker 
and  an  able  talker;  but  surely  his  truest  friends  must 
regret  that  he  did  not  accept  Emerson's  advice,  and 
use  the  pruning-knife  freely  before  publishing  his 
"  Leaves  of  Grass." 

No  one  can  fully  appreciate  a  cold  or  bronchial 
attack  until  he  has  indulged  in  what  America  fur 
nishes  in  this  pleasing  direction.  It  can  be  safely 
backed  for  severity  and  tenacity  against  our  puny 
English  attempts.  For  some  time  I  was  obliged  to 
avoid  night  air,  and  was  therefore  unable  to  be 
present  at  a  charming  entertainment  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bellangee  Cox  gave  at  the  Aldine  Hotel  to  Lord  and 


WOMAN  S    TEMPERANCE    UNION.  97 

Lady  Bury,  who  were  then  travelling  through  the 
country  on  a  combined  pleasure  and  business  trip — 
the  latter  having  reference  to  certain  railway  interests 
in  which  Lord  Bury  and  Mr.  McHenry  consider  them 
selves  badly  used. 

Philadelphia  is  a  stronghold  of  the  Woman's  Tem 
perance  Union.  The  president,  Mrs.  Hannah  Smith, 
is  a  splendid  woman,  and  keeps  the  great  organiza 
tion  under  her  control  in  thorough  activity  and  order. 
The  total  abstainers  here  are  rigid  in  their  condem 
nation  of  the  use  of  alcohol,  and  regard  its  use  at  the 
Holy  Communion  as  utterly  unjustifiable.  The  fol 
lowing  incident  may  be  cited  in  proof  of  this :  A 
coffee-house  was  opened,  and  "  an  all-day  prayer- 
meeting  "  was  the  ceremony  decided  on  to  celebrate 
the  day.  Ministers  of  various  denominations  were 
invited  to  lead  the  exercises  at  different  hours.  Dur 
ing  the  evening  a  Presbyterian  joined  the  worship 
pers,  against  whom  a  prejudice  is  entertained  in 
extreme  circles,  because  he  still  uses  wine  when 
administering  the  Sacrament  in  his  own  church.  He 
delivered  an  eloquent  prayer  on  the  curse  of  drink, 
and  when  he  concluded  a  Quaker  lady  rose  with  "  a 
message  from  the  Lord,"  which  also  took  the  form  of 
a  prayer,  in  which  she  fervently  pleaded  that  the 
minister  might  cease  to  dishonor  God  "by  making 
the  Lord's  house  smell  like  a  grog-shop  by  placing  on 
the  Lord's  table  the  produce  thereof."  This  will 
give  some  idea  of  the  feeling  entertained  respecting 
the  use  of  wine  under  the  most  sacred  circumstances. 
But  "  the  drink  question  "  is  undoubtedly  forced  upon 
all  here  who  value  health  and  sobriety,  in  a  way  it  is 
hard  for  any  English  person  to  realize  who  has  not 
5 


98  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

travelled  through  the  States.  Moderation  seems  a 
difficult,  if  not  an  unknown  virtue  in  this  direction. 
People  are  either  extreme  abstainers  or  hard  drinkers. 
The  light  wines  which  with  us  have  supplanted  the 
fiery  sherries  and  full-bodied  ports  of  our  ancestors, 
are  only  used  by  Americans  whose  tastes  have  been 
cultivated  by  foreign  travel ;  they  would  not  be 
appreciated  by  the  general  palate,  and  their  cost  is 
too  high  to  admit  of  their  general  use.  Consequently, 
in  the  best  hotels  you  see  people  daily  sitting  down 
to  a  somewhat  extensive  dinner,  but  drinking  with  it 
only  iced  water,  milk,  or  the  weakest  of  tea.  After 
dinner,  unhappily,  many  of  the  gentlemen  visit  the 
whisky  bar,  and,  as  the  exhilarating  nature  of  this 
climate  renders  spirit-drinking  more  deadly  than  it  is 
in  England,  no  one  who  values  the  welfare  of  others 
can  be  indifferent  to  the  terrible  evils  which  spring 
from  it.  The  only  question  is — the  best  way  to  cor 
rect  them.  "  Shut  up  the  theatres,  they  are  the  hot 
beds  of  vice,"  was  the  cry  of  the  old  bigoted  Puritan  ; 
but  we  are  now  beginning  to  see  that  the  Church  and 
the  Stage  can  work  together  for  the  moral  elevation 
of  the  people,  and  it  may  be  that  the  introduction  of 
light  wines  in  the  place  of  these  intoxicating,  ardent 
spirits  might  be  really  more  useful  than  the  bitter 
condemnation  of  all  who  do  not  join  the  ranks  of  the 
total  abstinence  party. 

The  tropical  warmth  with  which  the  liquor  ques 
tion  is  sometimes  discussed,  has  just  given  rise  to  a 
curious  case  of  libel.  The  druggists  have  often  been 
accused  of  dispensing  "  poison,"  and,  with  curious  sig 
nificance,  they  are  the  sole  dispensers  of  alcohol  in 
many  parts  of  America.  A  minister  in  Oberlin,  Ohio, 


UNRESPONSIVE    AUDIENCES.  99 

lately  attacked  in  the  course  of  his  sermon  a  druggist 
who  was  known  to  sell  rum  for  "  medicinal  purposes," 
and  said  that  when  his  guilty  spirit  approached  the 
gates  of  hell  the  shrieks  of  those  he  had  destroyed 
should  pierce  his  ears  "  with  hell's  first  welcome."  The 
use  of  such  intemperate  language  is  greatly  to  be  re 
gretted,  especially  in  the  pulpit.  But  many  ministers, 
from  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  downwards,  in 
dulge  in  utterances  which  strike  the  English  ear  as 
peculiar.  American  preachers,  as  a  rule,  however, 
bring  something  more  than  the  dry  husks  of  a  dead 
theology  into  the  pulpit ;  they  do  not,  perhaps,  "  vex 
the  dull  ear  of  drowsy  men"  as  often  as  some  of  their 
British  brethren.  If  they  "vex"  them,  it  is  more 
likely  to  be  after  the  fashion  of  a  minister  in  Heb 
ron,  who  was  so  indignant  with  his  congregation  for 
their  apathy,  that,  I  was  told,  he  called  them  at  a 
recent  prayer-meeting  "  blockheads,"  and  complained 
that  there  was  no  more  expression  in  their  faces  than 
in  "  so  many  wooden  heads  "  !  Since  this  occurrence, 
I  hear,  "  apathy "  has  given  place  to  a  remarkably 
critical  and  attentive  attitude,  which  is  rendering  the 
reverend  gentleman  extremely  uncomfortable. 

The  preacher  was  doubtless  only  experiencing  what 
many  speakers  and  actors  feel  before  an  unresponsive 
audience.  Mdlle.  Rhea,  when  acting  at  Utica,  com 
plained  that  the  audience  was  as  undemonstrative 
and  cold  as  Arctic  ice.  "  How  can  I  warm  this  as 
semblage  ?"  she  asked  in  despair;  "it  chills  me;  it 
seems  as  if  I  were  playing  to  people  far  away.  Noth 
ing  but  dynamite  will  stir  such  a  house !  " 

Perhaps  this  coldness  may  account  for  the  intro 
duction  of  some  startling  and  unseeming  novelties 


IOO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

into  reform  meetings  of  a  serious  character.  They 
are  certainly  calculated  to  arouse  attention  and  evoke 
response.  For  instance,  at  a  temperance  meeting 
held  in  New  York  one  Sunday  afternoon  in  March, 
an  actor  was  introduced  to  give  a  representation 
of  three  stages  of  drunkenness  and  delirium  tremens. 
I  regret  to  hear  this  "  created  enthusiasm."  Such 
an  exhibition  is  quite  as  distasteful  to  earnest 
workers  in  the  temperance  cause  there,  as  a  recent 
meeting  of  "  saved  drunkards  "  in  Exeter  Hall  proved 
to  refined  people  here.  All  kinds  of  sensational  stories 
were  detailed  by  the  various  speakers.  One  credit 
ed  himself  "with  every  crime  but  murder"  with  evi 
dent  satisfaction.  A  Devonshire  girl  described  with 
undisguised  gusto  the  life  she  had  led  before  she 
joined  the  Salvation  Army ;  then  followed  speeches 
from  people  who  gave  their  names  as  "  Old  Whisky," 
'The  Tramp,"  "The  Black  Bishop,"  and  the  "Cock 
ney  Brandy-drinker," — all  describing  themselves  as 
thieves,  drunkards,  wife-beaters,  and  guilty  of  other 
criminal  offences.  Such  revolting  exhibitions  can 
only  injure  the  cause  they  are  supposed  to  aid,  and 
should  be  discouraged  in  both  countries. 

Miss  Frances  Willard  is  one  of  the  foremost  and 
best  temperance  advocates  in  America,  and  devotes 
her  entire  life  in  support  of  what  she  regards  "  as  the 
most  vital  question  of  the  day." 

Well-organized  coffee-houses  are  essential  aids  to 
the  temperance  movement,  but  they  must  rival  the 
gin-palace  in  brilliancy,  warmth,  and  attraction.  The 
artisan  requires  a  place  where  he  is  sure  to  find  good 
substitutes  for  the  alcohol  he  is  advised  to  relinquish  ; 
he  wants  cheerful  rooms  and  pleasant  company  ;  help, 


COFFEE-HOUSES.  IOI 

not  dictation  or  patronage,  from  people  who  are 
richer  and  more  cultured  than  himself,  and  he  is  en 
titled  to  a  fair  choice  of  healthy  recreations.  The 
stagnation  from  which  he  suffers  only  needs  to  be 
stirred  by  a  vigorous,  judicious  hand,  and  healthy 
growths  will  soon  make  their  appearance.  Those 
who  try  to  provide  good  amusements  for  the  work 
ing  classes,  and  cultivate  a  greater  taste  for  music, 
art,  and  literature,  will  more  effectually  empty  the 
drinking  saloons  than  any  prohibition  or  Act  of  Par 
liament.  To  warn  people  against  dangerous  indul 
gences  is  but  to  advertise  them ;  the  reformer's  true 
wisdom  lies  in  offering  something  which  shall  com 
pete  in  the  open  market  with  such  seductive  pleasures, 
and  thus  to  win  his  fellow-creatures  from  drinking, 
gambling,  debasing  spectacles  and  cruel  sports. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Boston  ;  its  east  wind,  culture,  and  English  look — False  accusa 
tion  of  "  decadence,"  but  gaps  in  the  aristocracy  of  letters 
between  first  and  second  visits — Longfellow,  James  Fields, 
Professor  Agassiz — Asthma  and  its  remedies — John  Green- 
leaf  Whittier— Oliver  Wendell  Holmes— Mrs.  Julia  Ward 
Howe  and  the  New  England  Club  —  Victoria  Discussion  So 
ciety  —  Evacuation  Day  in  New  York  and  Forefathers'  Day 
in  Boston — Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale — Visit  to  the  Boston 
University  with  the  Dean  and  Mrs.  Talbot  —  Miss  Peabody 
and  the  Kindergarten — The  Papyrus  Club — Dr.  Harriet 
Hunt — ThevBible  and  the  Woman  question. 

FIFTY  years  ago  Fanny  Kemble  spoke  of  "  the  bit 
ter  bleak  east  wind — the  only  wind  that  blows  in 
Boston,"  and  added,  "  it  keeps  us  all  in  a  state  of  mis 
anthropy  and  universal  dissatisfaction."  I  admit  "  the 
bitter  bleak  east  wind,"  which  played  cruel  havoc 
with  my  throat  and  lungs,  but  I  repudiate  entirely 
the  "  misanthropy  and  dissatisfaction."  An  English 
woman  certainly  feels  sooner  more  "  at  home "  in 
Boston  than  in  any  other  town  in  America.  The 
very  streets  have  an  English  look  about  them,  and 
the  conditions  of  life  here  are  much  more  like  those 
of  the  mother  country,  to  say  nothing  of  the  people, 
who  undoubtedly  retain  many  of  the  characteristics  of 
their  ancestors.  It  is  far  less  cosmopolitan  than  New 
York,  which  Joaquin  Miller  describes  as  "  an  iron- 
fronted,  iron-footed,  and  iron-hearted  town  ";  further 
declaring,  that  its  screaming,  screeching,  swift,  and 

(102) 


BOSTON    HOMES.    '  103 

very  crooked  elevated  railroad  is  just  typical  of  the 
city  itself — "  iron,  all  iron,  iron  and  paint."  Com 
merce  and  money-getting  are  certainly  the  features  of 
New  York ;  everybody  dabbles  in  stocks,  and  Wall 
Street  is  the  centre  of  interest.  The  very  boys  know 
how  many  thousands  there  are  in  a  million  before 
they  learn  the  commandments.  But  in  Boston  a  dif 
ferent  spirit  prevails.  Life  is  taken  far  more  quietly, 
less  at  high  pressure,  and  people  are  valued  more  for 
their  culture  than  their  wealth.  The  ladies  are  equally 
remarkable  for  their  "  independence,"  but  less  for  their 
dress.  The  gay  colors  I  noticed  in  New  York  are  not 
to  be  seen  here.  The  houses  are  far  more  like  homes, 
and  if  they  have  not  the  magnificence  of  the  Fifth  Av 
enue  palaces,  they  all  contain  more  or  less  of  a  library 
of  books.  A  literary  atmosphere  pervades  the  place. 
Indeed,  Boston  is  the  acknowledged  centre  of  intel 
lectual  culture  and  literary  work.  Some  writers  de 
clare  that  Boston  is  losing  her  mental  pre-eminence, 
that  there  are  no  rising  authors  to  take  the  places  of 
those  literary  giants  who  once  made  her  famous,  and 
that  she  will  soon  cease  to  be  regarded  as  the  "  Athens 
of  America."  The  true  Bostonian  indignantly  dis 
claims  this  allegation,  and  declares  "  that  more  culture 
to  the  square  inch  was  never  known  there "  than 
exists  at  the  present  moment  in  the  "  hub  of  the 
universe  ";  so  much  so,  that  "  a  little  English  Philis 
tinism  would  be  a  positive  relief,"  retorted  a  New 
England  journalist  with  whom  I  was  discussing  the 
accusation  of  "  decadence." 

But  it  will  not  be  easy  to  replace  the  aristocracy 
of  letters  which  reigned  in  Boston  when  Prescott, 
George  Ticknor,  Theodore  Parker,  .  Dr.  Channing, 


IC4  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

and  Emerson  were  familiar  figures  in  Beacon  Street. 
Even  the  ten  years  which  elapsed  between  my  first 
and  second  visit  had  turned  many  a  valued  presence 
into  a  "  majestic  memory."  The  grand-looking  old 
poet  Longfellow,  the  genial  scholar  Professor  Agassiz, 
and  my  kind  friend  James  Fields,  had,  with  many  other 
notable  persons,  joined  the  majority,  and  left  many 
"  a  vacant  chair."  On  whom  have  their  mantles  de 
scended  ? 

Time,  however,  had  dealt  gently  with  John  Green- 
leaf  Whittier.  I  found  him  celebrating  his  seventy- 
fifth  anniversary  in  December,  1882.  The  evening  I 
lectured  in  Tremont  Temple  he  sent  me  a  kindly 
message:  "The  night  air"  kept  him  at  home,  he 
said,  but  he  "  was  with  me  in  spirit."  On  his  birth 
day,  in  his  pleasant  rooms  in  the  Hotel  Winthrop, 
overlooking  Bowdoin  Street,  sat  the  venerable  old 
man,  with  a  mass  of  snow-white  hair  rising  above  a 
towering  forehead,  surrounded  by  tokens  of  affection 
ate  esteem  sent  from  far  and  near.  One  exquisite  bou 
quet  I  had  seen  the  day  before  while  dining  with  the 
wife  of  its  donor,  ex-Governor  Claflin.  It  was  from 
their  hothouses,  and  consisted  of  seventy-five  roses — 
each  flower  marking  a  year ;  and  for  the  fragrance  of 
these  American  roses  to  be  appreciated  they  must  be 
enjoyed  here,  freshly  gathered,  for  no  description  can 
convey  any  idea  of  their  delicious  perfume. 

And  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast-Table — dear  old 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes — had  still  a  welcome  for  me. 
As  of  old,  I  found  him  the  centre  of  the  wit  and 
humor  passing  round  the  circle.  His  conversation  is 
as  rich  as  ever  in  vigor  and  delicious  whimsicality.  If 
his  individuality  is  acknowledged  in  his  writings,  how 


JULIA    WARD    HOWE.  IO5 

much  more  is  it  felt  by  those  who  are  brought  within 
the  magic  circle  of  his  personal  influence.  As  a  fel 
low-sufferer  from  asthma,  we  had  early  found  a  bond 
of  sympathy  in  discussing  a  complaint  which  hitherto 
has  baffled  the  science  of  the  whole  world,  though 
America  must  have  the  credit  of  the  discovery  of  the 
best  palliative  I  know,  viz.,  Himrod's  asthma  powder, 
from  the  fumes  of  which  I  have  invariably  derived  the 
greatest  possible  relief.  Some  years  ago  I  gave  it  to 
Dr.  Morell  Mackenzie,  of  London,  who  has  found  it 
of  inestimable  value  to  sufferers  from  that  painful 
malady  here.  I  have  tried  eveiy  remedy  ever  invent 
ed,  and  Himrod's  cure  is  the  only  one  in  which  I  have 
absolute  confidence. 

At  the  New  England  Club  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe 
introduced  me  to  the  leading  women  in  various  re 
form  movements.  This  Club  was  formed  not  merely 
to  secure  a  central  place  of  meeting,  but  with  the 
hope  that  from  personal  contact  with  each  other 
women  might  learn  that  much-needed  lesson,  "  to  be 
more  just  and  generous  to  their  own  sex."  Mrs. 
Howe  has  been  a  marked  woman  in  her  own  country 
for  many  years.  Her  "  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Repub 
lic  "  was  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  spirited 
utterances  during  the  terrible  civil  war  which  kindled 
"  the  watch-fires  of  a  hundred  circling  camps."  I 
think  Mrs.  Howe  is  one  of  the  best  drawing-room 
speakers  in  America.  She  is  a  woman  of  great  cul 
ture  ;  and  if  her  speeches  perhaps  lack  the  terseness 
which  characterizes  the  use  of  plain  Saxon,  they  are 
full  of  thought,  and  very  marvels  of  polish.  She  is 
one  of  those  brave  women 

"Who  to  herself  is  true, 
And  what  she  dares  to  dream  of.  dares  to  do." 


106  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Though  Mrs.  Howe  had  once  sung  of  the  "  fiery 
gospel,  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel,"  she  was  the 
first  to  cross  the  Atlantic  to  advocate  at  the  Peace 
Congress  the  great  principles  of  human  brotherhood, 
and  to  urge  that  the  time  had  come  when  the  antag 
onisms  of  nations  and  society  should  be  settled  in 
some  calmer  manner  than  by  bitterness  and  blood 
shed.  I  had  then  the  pleasure  of  asking  her  to  pre 
side  at  one  of  the  debates  of  the  Victoria  Discussion 
Society,  when  Dr.  Zerfrl  read  a  paper  on  "  Women  in 
Art."  This  society  was  organized  in  London  for  a 
twofold  object, — to  afford  a  neutral  meeting-point  for 
all  interested  in  women's  work,  and  to  give  ladies  an 
increased  opportunity  for  oral  utterance.  Miss  Becker, 
Mrs.  Fawcett,  Lady  Amberley,  and  one  or  two  Eng 
lish  women,  had  at  this  time  lectured  in  public,  but 
very  few  ladies  had  dared  even  to  join  in  a  discussion 
at  a  Social  Science  Congress. 

No  society  ever  yet  escaped  difficulties  and  disap 
pointments,  or  failed  to  fall  short  of  the  expectations 
of  sanguine  promoters  ;  for  societies,  like  individuals, 
have  an  unfortunate  way  of  seldom  realizing  their 
highest  aspirations.  In  spite  of  all  drawbacks,  how 
ever,  the  Victoria  Discussion  Society,  during  its 
few  years'  existence,  certainly  accomplished  a  great 
deal  of  the  work  I  had  called  it  into  existence  to  per 
form.  It  brought  together  a  number  of  earnest  peo 
ple  who  would  never  otherwise  have  met,  and  enabled 
them  to  compare  their  varied  'experiences,  and  it  en 
couraged  many  ladies  to  express  valuable  opinions, 
who,  under  other  circumstances,  would  probably  have 
been  too  nervous  to  afford  help  to  other  workers,  but 
"  would  have  died  with  all  their  music  in  them."  Dr. 


"EVACUATION  DAY, 

Elizabeth  Blackwell  and  Dr.  Garrett  Anderson,  in  the 
opening  session  of  the  Victoria  Discussion  Society, 
gave  an  account  of  their  practical  experiences  in  the 
field  of  Medicine.  Lords  Shaftesbury  and  Houghton 
expressed  their  approval  of  medical  training  for  women, 
which  was  of  great  moment  just  then  to  the  cause. 
"  Ginx's  Baby,"  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Edward  Jenkins, 
M.P.,  discoursed  on  the  condition  of  the  poorer  classes, 
and  advocated  emigration  under  the  leadership  of  one 
of  our  Colonial  Governors,  Sir  George  Grey ;  while 
Chunder  Sen  took  back  to  India  fresh  inspirations  for 
the  extension  of  women's  education  there.  I  can  not 
enumerate  here  the  important  subjects  discussed  from 
time  to  time,  or  the  influential  people  thus  brought 
into  practical  sympathy  with  one  another,  but  must 
content  myself  with  saying  that  an  impetus  was  given 
to  the  passing  of  the  Act  to  secure  the  property  and 
earnings  of  married  women  by  the  able  way  in  which 
Mr.  Herbert  Mozley  and  Sir  J.  Erskine  Perry  ad 
vanced  its  interests  at  some  of  our  meetings. 

Two  very  important  annual  celebrations  take  place 
in  America  in  the  concluding  months  of  the  year. 
New  York  makes  the  grandest  possible  preparations 
for  "  Evacuation  Day  "  in  November.  "  What  is  Evac 
uation  Day?"  asked  a  young  English  lady  in  my 
presence,  much  to  my  amusement,  for  I  had  been 
already  initiated  into  the  mystery.  Whereon  the 
eyes  of  the  patriotic  Yankee  whom  she  thus  rashly 
interrogated  kindled,  and  with  considerable  pride  he 
answered,  "  Well,  I  guess  next  Monday  will  be  the  hun 
dredth  anniversary  of  the  day  when  the  Britishers 
saw  they  had  better  quit  for  that  tight  little  island  of 
yours";  and  then  he  proceeded  to  enlarge  with  great 


IO8  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

enthusiasm  on  the  courage  and  patriotism  of  his  fore 
fathers,  who  freed  this  country  from  English  despot 
ism. 

A  century  ago,  at  the  dinner  given  by  General 
Clinton  to  celebrate  the  exit  of  English  rulers,  the 
toast  of  the  evening  was,  "  May  the  remembrance  of 
this  day  be  a  terror  to  princes."  In  spite  of  all  efforts 
in  1883  to  revive  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people,  the 
toasts  were  more  in  keeping  with  the  generous  spirit 
of  the  present  time,  which  induces  this  great  Repub 
lic  to  offer  a  cordial  greeting  to  all  foreign  potentates, 
whether  crowned  by  right  of  mere  heritage  of  lands, 
or  by  reason  of  gifts  which  make  them  kings  in  the 
realms  of  literature  and  art. 

On  the  22d  of  December  Boston  keeps  "  Fore 
fathers'  Day."  Two  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  arrived  at  Plymouth  in  the  May 
flower  ;  and  what  would  those  harsh,  solemn,  unbend 
ing  Englishmen  have  said  could  they  have  foreseen 
how  their  descendants  would  commemorate  the  event  ? 
For  these  were  the  men  who  forbade  every  kind  of 
amusement ;  all  genial  conviviality  was  a  sin  in  the 
eyes  of  these  angular,  sanctimonious  Puritans,  who 
bade  adieu  to  their  native  land  because  they  would 
not  bow  the  knee  to  Baal.  Plymouth,  it  is  true,  kept 
the  day  as  a  holiday,  with  display  of  flags  and  salutes 
by  cannons,  while  the  Standish  Guards  formed  in 
line  and  marched  to  the  rock  on  which  the  Pilgrims 
landed  ;  after  which  a  service  was  held  in  the  church 
and  a  hymn  sung,  composed  for  the  occasion  by 
Governor  Long.  But  elsewhere  dinners  marked  the 
event.  The  "  New  England  Sons  "  in  Pennsylvania 
had  a  splendid  banquet  at  the  Union  League  Assem- 


BOSTON  S    PUBLIC    DINNERS.  I OQ 

bly  Hall ;  Delmonico's  was  of  course  the  scene  of  the 
New  York  festivity ;  and  as  for  Boston,  it  is  strange 
but  true  that  one  great  feature  of  Boston  life  is  its 
public  dinners.  As  the  Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale 
told  me,  "  a  representative  man  may  dine  in  public, 
if  he  pleases,  nearly  every  night  of  the  year."  Every 
thing  begins  and  goes  on  with  dinners,  except  the 
ladies'  association — and  they  have  "social  teas"  in 
stead.  Not  that  the  "  flowing  bowl "  is  indulged  in 
at  even  all  the  gentlemen's  dinners,  for  Boston  is  a 
stronghold  of  temperance.  At  many  dinners  no  wine 
is  to  be  seen  at  all,  and  yet  the  Rev.  C.  A.  Bartol,  in 
an  after-dinner  speech,  urged  the  advocates  of  total 
abstinence  to  extra  exertions  in  the  cause,  as  the 
"  rum  interest,"  as  he  described  it,  had  elected  the 
last  Mayor  of  Boston  and  the  Governor  of  Massa 
chusetts.  The  nation  is  not  suffering  from  the 
"  overwork "  on  which  Herbert  Spencer  laid  such 
emphasis,  but,  according  to  Mr.  Bartol,  from  "  over 
drinking,  over-smoking,  and  over-indulgence  in  all 
sensual  desires."  I  had  but  brief  glimpses  of  Mr. 
Everett  Hale  and  James  Freeman  Clarke — the  one 
had  only  just  returned  from  Europe,  and  the  other 
was  absent  lecturing ;  but  both  were  hard  at  work 
helping  to  crush  sectarian  disputes  and  theological 
wrangling,  fearlessly  pointing  out  the  dangers  to  be 
dreaded  in  this  country,  where  those  who  have  sud 
denly  grown  rich  do  not  assume  the  responsibility 
for  the  use  of  their  wealth  which  is  felt  by  an  aristoc 
racy  of  standing.  Our  European  aristocracies  at 
least  know  that  they  are  under  some  obligation  to 
the  nation.  The  American  aristocracy  of  wealth  too 
often  feels  none. 


IIO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

The  Dean  of  the  Boston  University  invited  me  to 
visit  the  School  of  Medicine,  and  I  spent  a  very 
pleasant  morning  there  with  Mrs.  Talbot,  Mrs.  Hem- 
maway,  the  President  of  Wellesley  College,  and 
other  representative  ladies.  The  Dean  conducted  me 
through  the  building,  not  even  sparing  me  the  dis 
secting-room  ;  and  when  I  entered  the  lecture-room, 
in  which  about  200  students  of  both  sexes  were  as 
sembled,  I  received  a  greeting  as  unexpected  as  it 
was  gratifying.  The  Dean  gave  an  informal  history 
of  the  College,  and  spoke  from  the  experience  of  this 
School  of  Medicine  strongly  in  favor  of  co-education, 
after  which  I  was  requested  to  say  a  few  words  about 
what  had  been  accomplished  in  England. 

Ten  years  ago,  at  the  New  England  Club,  I  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  delightful  old  lady,  Miss  E.  P. 
Peabody,  who  is  regarded  as  the  mother  of  the  Kin 
dergarten  system  in  America.  She  studied  Frobel's 
methods  in  Germany,  and  introduced  that  admirable 
form  of  teaching  in  her  own  country.  Her  entire  life 
has  been  devoted  to  the  work,  and  in  1882  I  found 
her  still  discoursing  on  her  favorite  theme,  impress 
ing  an  excellent  maxim  on  her  hearers,  which  might 
be  adopted  with  advantage  in  other  places  than  Kin 
dergartens — "  Never  give  pain  unless  it  is  to  prevent 
a  greater  pain."  The  world  would  be  a  very  differ 
ent  place,  if  we  acted  on  this  golden  rule  in  all  our 
dealings  with  each  other  in  daily  life.  In  April,  1884, 
Miss  Peabody  kept  her  8oth  birthday,  surrounded  by 
a  large  gathering  of  her  friends.  During  the  winter 
she  had  occupied  herself  with  the  Piute  Indian  affairs, 
and,  notwithstanding  her  loss  of  sight,  had  written 
scores  of  letters  on  the  subject  to  Senators  whom  she 


DR.    HARRIET    HUNT.  Ill 

hoped  to  influence.  Strange  to  say,  though  Miss 
Peabody  writes  now  chiefly  by  the  sense  of  touch, 
her  handwriting  is  far  more  legible  than  some  of  the 
productions  of  those  who  are  in  full  possession  of 
their  eyesight.  Passing  events,  social  reforms,  and 
political  movements,  still  excite  in  her  the  same  vivid 
interest  as  of  old,  and  accordingly  Miss  Peabody's 
friends  never  fail  to  spend  many  hours  with  her  daily, 
for  the  purpose  of  reading  the  newspapers  and  new 
books,  a  duty  and  pleasure  largely  shared  by  her 
niece,  Mrs.  Hawthorne  Lathrop,  a  Boston  beauty  of 
the  golden-haired  type,  whom  I  first  met  at  the 
Papyrus  Club  dinner — a  charming  entertainment,  at 
which  her  husband  read  a  humorous  account  of  a 
supposed  interview  with  Don  Quixote,  and  after 
other  original  poems  and  tales  contributed  by  Colo 
nel  Lyman,  Governor  Long,  Mr.  Babbitt,  etc.,  Boyle 
O'Reilly  recited  a  really  powerful  poem,  indicating 
the  results  of  the  growing  breach  between  labor  and 
capital,  a  strife  which  is  undoubtedly  looming  on  the 
American  horizon. 

When  I  first  went  to  Boston,  I  received  a  message 
from  one  of  the  earliest  pioneer  lady  doctors  begging 
me  to  go  and  see  her,  as  she  was  utoo  old  and  too  ill 
to  leave  her  room."  Pleasant  indeed  was  the  inter 
view  which  followed,  for  Dr.  Harriet  Hunt  was  not 
only  a  clever  physician,  but  a  warm-hearted  woman, 
of  whose  kindly  and  helpful  deeds  I  had  often  been 
told.  In  her  personal  presence  one  realized  the 
earnest  simplicity  of  her  character,  and  her  buoyant 
spirits  and  ringing  laugh  betokened  the  good-will  to 
all  and  peace  which  reigned  within.  She  was  one  of 
the  first  to  protest  against  "  the  unpardonable  sin  " 


112  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

of  bringing  up  girls  without  a  knowledge  of  domes 
tic  duties  and  responsibilities — those  solid  attain 
ments  which  endure  when  youthful  "  attractions " 
pass  away.  "  It  must  soon  be  seen  that  bringing  up 
girls  for  nothing  but  marriage  mingle  poison  in  the 
cup  of  domestic  life,  and  is  traitorous  to  the  virtue 
of  both  sexes,  for  neither  suffers  alone."  These 
brave  words  were  written  in  1827  ;  they  are  still 
needed  in  1884,  proving  that  it  is  only  by  line  upon 
line,  and  precept  upon  precept,  we  shall  ever  succeed 
in  bringing  such  truths  home.  To  this  very  hour,  in 
both  countries,  a  woman's  claim  to  equal  educational 
advantages,  in  order  that  she  may  worthily  fulfil  her 
own  place  in  the  world,  and  prove  a  real  helpmeet 
for  man,  is  met  by  many  with  the  charge  that  she  is 
"  ruthlessly  shattering  household  gods,"  and  that 
"  man  can  offer  no  protection  to  the  being  who  taunt 
ingly  proclaims  herself  his  rival ;  he  can  feel  no 
reverence,  not  even  pity,  for  the  nondescript  who 
tramples  on  her  most  precious  privileges,  and  vainly 
grasps  at  the  rights  of  man."  There  are  still  to  be 
found  in  every  city  Jeremiahs  like  Dr.  Dix,  of  New 
York,  who  lament  over  these  u  indecorous "  efforts 
to  plunge  into  "  coarse  rivalry  with  man."  Not  that 
there  seems  much  chance  of  the  survival  of  any  kind 
of  good  woman  at  all,  according  to  the  reverend  gen 
tleman — very  happily  described  by  Mrs.  Devereux 
Blake  as  the  "  theological  Rip  Van  Winkle  of  the 
age  ";  for  in  his  Lenten  lecture  he  stated  that  "  real 
women  " — whatever  he  meant  by  that  singular  term 
—were  dying  out,  and  that  "the  ideal  of  an  earnest, 
modest,  simple  womanhood  "  is  being  superseded  by 
a  poor  substitute  made  of  "  vulgarity,  heartlessness, 


FALSE    BARRIERS.  113 

froth,  and  chaff," — terrible  accusations,  followed  by 
arguments  drawn  from  the  Bible  supposed  to  be  un 
answerable,  and  therefore  crushing.  Such  opponents 
seem  to  forget  that  while  "  the  letter  killeth,  the 
spirit  giveth  life."  The  same  apostle  who  told 
"  wives  to  obey  their  husbands,"  also  said,  "  Slaves, 
obey  your  masters" — a  recognition,  perhaps,  of  a 
prevailing  custom,  but  certainly  not  an  approval  of 
it.  It  was  indeed  only  natural  that  St.  Paul,  who  de 
clared  himself  ready  to  refrain  from  meat  all  the  days 
of  his  life  rather  than  offend  a  weak-  brother,  should 
urge  Greek  converts  to  be  "  keepers  at  home,"  in 
days  when  no  respectable  matron  or  maiden  ever  left 
the  house  save  for  religious  festivals. 

But  now,  when  custom  obliges  ladies  to  take  part 
in  amusements  of  all  kinds,  I  suspect  the  inspired 
writer  would  be  the  first  to  say  that  only  a  perverse 
generation  could  persist  in  keeping  women  apart 
from  the  more  serious  concerns  of  life,  while  it  re 
quires  such  license  in  another  direction.  It  is  no 
longer  a  question  of  "  the  home  or  the  world  ";  it  is 
a  case  of  sober  interests  or  frivolous  pursuits  ;  the 
one  will  tend  to  raise  the  whole  nation,  the  other 
will  ultimately  destroy  it. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  Bible,  falsely  supposed  to 
crush  demands  stigmatized  by  opponents  as  "  un- 
feminine  and  ungodly,"  really  contains  the  very  es 
sence  of  the  claims  advanced.  For  instance,  what 
more  do  we  want  than  the  fulfilment  of  this  injunc 
tion  in  sacred  writ :  "  Give  every  woman  of  the  fruit 
of  her  hand,  and  let  her  works  praise  her  in  the 
gates."  Christianity,  in  truth,  was  the  signal  for  the 
breaking  down  of  false  and  artificial  barriers,  though 


114  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

it  has  proved  a  signal  some  of  its  professors,  in  the 
stubbornness  of  their  hearts,  resolutely  refuse  to 
see.  They  indulge  in  confusing  discourses  on  "  broad 
lines  of  demarcation,"  "  masculine  and  feminine  char 
acteristics  ";  forgetting  that  the  very  highest  thought 
of  God  includes  the  blending  of  those  elements 
which,  in  common  speech,  we  call  masculine  and 
feminine.  The  grandest  human  characters  include 
these  self-same  qualities,  the  true  man  having  much 
of  the  noble  woman,  and  the  noble  woman  having 
somewhat  of  the  true  man.  It  is  time  to  reject  as 
heathenish  the  notion  of  separate  codes  of  virtue, 
and  to  look  for  modesty  in  men  and  courage  in 
women,  and  then  we  shall  find  that  what  is  true  of 
the  highest  humanity  is  true  of  the  world  at  large, 
and  that  for  the  service  of  that  world  the  spirit  and 
power  of  woman  is  as  much  needed  as  the  spirit  and 
power  of  man. 

Who  can  doubt  this  in  a  State  like  Massachusetts, 
full  of  the  practical  work  already  accomplished  by 
women  in  schools,  reformatories,  and  other  direc 
tions  ?  Take,  for  example,  that  marvellous  prison 
managed  entirely  by  women,  in  which  the  superin 
tendent,  chaplain,  physician,  alike  are  women,  whose 
wonderful  efforts  in  reclaiming  the  erring  ones  under 
their  care  have  been  crowned  with  such  signal  suc 
cess. 

But  wise  convictions,  like  light,  dawn  gradually, 
and  the  mists  of  prejudice  which  still  enshroud  some 
minds  will  not  be  dispersed  till  people  cease  to  dog 
matize  on  the  deepest  and  most  delicate  chords  of 
human  nature. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

English  and  American  receptions  contrasted — St.  Louis — Ab 
sence  of  gentlemen  at  afternoon  receptions — Innovation  at 
St.  Louis — Mrs.  Bigelow's  "At  home" — Dr.  Sarah  Hackett 
Stevenson,  of  Chicago — Illinois  women — Judge  Bradwell  and 
his  lawyer  wife — Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hoggan,  of  London — Incident 
during  a  railway  journey  —  Charlotte  Cushman  on  and  off 
the  stage — Compared  as  a  reader  with  Fanny  Kemble — Mr. 
Sothern  and  Miss  Cushman  at  a  steamer  banquet  —  The  ruse 
to  avoid  speech-making — The  model  town  of  Pullman — Ca 
boose  travelling  in  Winconsin  and  Minnesota  —  Cincinnati 
during  the  flood  of  1883 — Governor  Noyes — Murat  Halstead 
and  Mr.  Probasco. 

THERE  is  an  institution  in  America  very  familiar 
to  "  the  distinguished  traveller,"  entailing  so  much 
physical  discomfort  and  mental  disappointment  to  all 
concerned,  that  I  venture  to  hope  for  its  speedy  over 
throw,  as  one  of  those  shams  of  society  far  more 
"  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance."  I 
trust  my  good  friends  across  the  Atlantic  will  not 
accuse  me  of  being  ungrateful  or  ungracious  if  I  ex 
press  in  these  pages  sentiments,  many  of  them  ac 
knowledged  to  me  in  private,  though  they  have  as 
yet  not  seen  their  way  to  fly  in  the  face  of  an  estab 
lished  custom. 

Receptions  arranged  for  the  introduction  of  a  stran 
ger  into  the  society  of  a  city  in  which  he  finds  himself 
for  the  first  time,  when  crowded  and  protracted,  are 
perhaps  equally  wearisome  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Our  arrangements  in  London  for  this  inevitable  cer- 

("5) 


Il6  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

emony  are  bad  enough,  but  at  least  the  recipient  of 
the  honor  is  seated  in  some  comfortable,  though  con 
spicuous,  place,  and  allowed  a  brief  respite  for  some 
thing  approaching  the  interchange  of  ideas  with  the 
most  notable  people  in  the  assembly,  who  are  alone 
presented,  on  the  ground  that,  as  the  time  allotted  is 
not  indefinite,  the  number  of  introductions  must  of 
necessity  be  limited  also,  and  in  keeping  with  its  stern 
demands.  The  rest  of  the  company  are  quite  content 
to  be  present  on  the  occasion,  and  to  extract  their 
enjoyment  from  social  intercourse  with  one  another. 
They  recognize  the  fact  that  any  other  course  in 
volves  the  hopeless  confusion  of  the  stranger  they 
seek  to  honor.  In  America,  however,  a  different  fash 
ion  prevails.  Each  person  expects  a  formal  introduc 
tion,  and  would  be  much  outraged  if  this  barren  honor 
were  neglected.  Consequently,  the  guest  in  question 
has  to  stand  with  the  host  or  hostess  at  the  door,  to 
be  presented  to,  and  shake  hands  with,  every  one  who 
enters  the  house,  and  the  same  ceremony  has  to  be 
gone  through  with  when  they  quit  it.  The  bare  in 
terchange  of  names,  mutual  bows,  with  murmurs 
about  "  the  pleasure  such  an  introduction  affords,"  as 
the  crowd  sweeps  by,  is  the  beginning  and  end  of 
such  ceremonials.  Social  intercourse  is  an  impossi 
bility,  and  recognition  in  the  street  the  following  day, 
on  the  part  of  the  stranger,  is  a  hopeless  task.  A 
perfect  sea  of  kind  faces  have  succeeded  each  other 
in  such  bewildering  rapidity  that  no  permanent  im 
pression  could  possibly  be  retained. 

There  is  another  objectionable  feature  in  an  after 
noon  reception,  organized  for  the  benefit  of  a  lady, 
which  we  also  escape  in  England.  Except  at  Wash- 


AFTERNOON    RECEPTIONS.  ,117 

ington  and  Boston,  gentlemen  are  not  even  invited. 
They  are  supposed  to  be  too  busy  at  their  various 
occupations  to  countenance  such  entertainments.  Un 
like  the  Old  World,  which  prides  itself  on  its  "  leisure 
class,"  America  refuses  to  acknowledge  the  existence 
of  men  who  can  afford  to  give  to  society  the  hours 
claimed  by  work.  I  fancy,  however,  that  if  a  glimpse 
could  be  obtained  into  the  city  offices  and  city  club 
houses,  some  strange  discrepancy  would  be  some 
times  discovered  between  what  is  and  what  is  sup 
posed  to  be.  Be  this  as  it  may,  gentlemen  are  rarely 
seen  at  these  afternoon  receptions.  I  shall  have  the 
courage  of  my  opinions,  and  boldly  declare  that  while 
such  a  form  of  "  receiving"  exists,  this  is  a  fact  much 
to  be  lamented  in  the  interests  of  all  who  take  part 
in  them.  I  have  thoroughly  enjoyed  many  a  lunch 
eon,  and  even  a  dinner  of  "ladies  only,"  but  I  cer 
tainly  think  the  success  of  a  large  reception  depends 
very  greatly  upon  the  due  balance  of  the  sexes  being, 
as  far  as  possible,  preserved. 

"  An  afternoon  "  was  kindly  arranged  for  me  by  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  ladies  in  St.  Louis,  during  my 
stay  in  that  city.  I  was  previously  entertained  at 
luncheon  by  my  host  and  hostess,  but  when  the  hour 
arrived  for  the  appearance  of  the  general  company,  to 
my  great  surprise  my  host  prepared  to  depart,  intend 
ing  to  leave  his  wife  to  receive  without  his  assistance 
the  150  ladies  who  had  been  invited  to  meet  me.  Our 
united  entreaties,  and  my  suggestion  that  he  should 
start  the  innovation  there,  on  the  excuse  that  it  was 
out  of  deference  to  an  English  guest,  prevailed,  and  he 
consented  to  remain.  Afterward  he  frankly  confess 
ed  that  he  had  greatly  enjoyed  himself,  though  he 


Il8  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

pretended  to  be  much  afraid  of  the  indignation  of  the 
husbands,  who  as  usual  had  not  even  been  asked  to 
accompany  their  wives.  The  American  gentleman  as 
a  rule  makes  a  ceremonial  call  in  the  evening,  during 
the  hours  the  Englishman  regards  his  castle  as  sacred, 
and  expects  no  one  without  a  definite  invitation  to 
cross  its  threshold.  In  circles  where  the  English 
fashionable  dinner-hour  of  from  seven  to  eight  has  been 
adopted,  this  practice  is  naturally  dying  out,  and  gen 
tlemen  pay  their  respects  to  the  lady  of  the  house  on 
the  day  she  announces  herself  as  "  at  home."  In  these 
houses  I  have  often  met  as  many  gentlemen  as  lady 
callers  between  three  and  five  o'clock.  I  remember 
once  at  Mrs.  Bigelow's  in  New  York  mistaking  the 
English  stranger  who  was  talking  to  me  for  an  Ameri 
can,  owing  to  his  familiarity  with  the  country,  and  the 
manners  and  customs  throughout  the  State.  At  last 
he  explained  his  nationality,  adding  he  had  "  been  on 
this  side  of  the  water  more  or  less  for  six  years." 
"  On  business?"  I  ventured  to  ask.  "  Not  at  all,"  was 
his  reply.  "You  are  irresistibly  drawn  to  this  coun 
try,"  I  suggested.  "  I  am  irretrievably  overdrawn  in 
the  old,"  was  his  ready  and  amusing  rejoinder. 

Among  the  pleasantest  welcomes  I  received  during 
my  second  visit  to  Chicago,  was  a  notable  reception 
given  by  Dr.  Sarah  Hackett  Stevenson  in  her  house 
in  Michigan  Avenue,  in  conjunction  with  the  famous 
Fortnightly  Club  of  that  city.  It  was  very  crowded, 
and  difficult  to  obtain  much  conversation  with  any  one 
present ;  but  nevertheless  it  was  impossible  not  to  ap 
preciate  what  was  so  kindly  intentioned,  and  so  ably 
carried  out,  that  it  was  justly  described  by  the  papers 
next  day  "  as  a  public  demonstration  of  Chicago's 


SARAH    HACKETT    STEVENSON.  I  1 9 

best  citizens."  A  few  years  before,  I  had  seen  a  great 
deal  of  Dr.  Stevenson  in  London  ;  she  studied  in  our 
medical  schools  there,  and  was  one  of  Professor  Hux 
ley's  brightest  pupils.  To-day  she  is  a  leading  phy 
sician  in  Chicago,  with  a  large  and  increasing  practice, 
often  called  upon  to  drive  out  into  the  country  in 
the  middle  of  the  night  through  the  frost  and  snow, 
to  some  patient  who  has  the  bad  taste  to  require  her 
services  at  such  an  inconvenient  season.  Dr.  Steven 
son  is  a  remarkably  tall,  handsome  woman,  with  a 
commanding  presence  ;  she  is  an  uncompromising 
upholder  of  the  dignity  of  her  profession,  a  stern  ad 
ministrator  of  allopathic  draughts  and  pills,  but  so 
sympathetic  and  womanly  withal,  that  her  patients  not 
only  have  confidence  in  her  skill,  but  firm  faith  in  her 
never-failing  tenderness  and  kindness.  She  has  con 
sequently  attracted  round  her  a  number  of  enthusi 
astic  friends,  and  is  one  of  the  leading  spirits  at  the 
Woman's  Medical  College  and  Dispensary.  The  last 
time  I  met  her  was  at  a  little  gathering  at  Mrs.  Gil 
bert's,  when  she  delighted  all  present  by  a  wonderfully 
clever  little  skit  on  the  nineteenth  century  upheaval 
of  old-fashioned  beliefs  and  customs,  in  which  she  very 
cleverly  exposed  the  absurd  contradictions  which 
abound  in  modern  society.  It  was  full  of  pungent 
humor,  yet  a  reverent  and  almost  pathetic  undercur 
rent  pervaded  every  line.  If  Dr.  Stevenson  is  induced 
to  publish  it  in  the  form  of  a  Christmas  brochure,  with 
the  charming  illustrations  a  friend  had  made  on  her 
manuscript,  I  trust  it  will  reach  England,  where  the 
author  is  pleasantly  remembered  by  a  group  of  cordial 
friends. 

The  prairie  State  derives  its  name  from  the  word 


I2O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  Mini,"  signifying  "  living  men."  It  certainly  has 
contained  many  ladies  who  deserve  to  rank  under  that 
denomination  as  well,  for  countless  women  have  dis 
tinguished  themselves  in  various  directions.  Miss 
Willard,  President  of  Evanston  College,  is  now  the 
acknowledged  leader  of  the  temperance  party  in  Amer 
ica.  The  assistant  State  entomologist  was  a  woman. 
I  knew  a  lady  journalist  in  receipt  of  2,500  dollars  a 
year  for  her  work  on  a  daily  paper  as  book  reviewer 
and  fashion  editor ;  but  it  is  somewhat  singular  not  to 
find  "  a  notary  public  "  there,  as  in  other  places,  con 
sidering  the  laws  of  the  State  are  more  liberal  than 
any  other  in  the  Union  regarding  the  power  of  married 
or  single  women  to  enter  into  contracts,  and  carry  on 
any  profession  or  trade  they  please.  Women  are 
eligible  for  any  position  in  the  public  schools,  and  as 
lawyers  have  obtained  enviable  reputations.  Miss 
Alta  M.  Hullet  was  admitted  to  the  bar  before  she 
was  nineteen  ;  but  her  health  failed  her,  and  she  went 
to  California,  where  she  died  of  hereditary  consump 
tion.  It  is  often  said  that  no  professional  man  would 
marry  a  lady  who  aspired  to  rival  him  in  his  own 
career.  A  notable  exception  to  this  theory  is  to  be 
found  in  Chicago.  Mrs.  Myra  Bradwell,  the  first  law 
yer  admitted  in  the  State,  not  only  married  Judge 
Bradwell,  but  a  business  partnership  exists  between 
them.  She  also  edits  the  Legal  News,  which  is  es 
teemed  "  a  great  authority"  in  the  West. 

A  similar  refutation  of  this  doctrine  may  be  found 
in  medical  circles  in  London  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Hoggan 
and  his  clever  wife,  Dr.  Frances  Hoggan.  I  must  re 
late  a  curious  incident  apropos  of  the  assertion  that  a 
man  always  objects  to  the  admission  of  women  into 


DISCUSSION    ON    "  WOMAN  S    SPHERE.          J2I 

his  own  profession.  Dr.  Hoggan  was  requested 
by  the  friends  of  Dr.  Susan  Dimock,  of  Boston,  to 
undertake  the  melancholy  task  of  identifying  her  body, 
as  during  that  lady's  voyage  to  Europe  in  pursuit  of 
a  well-earned  holiday,  she  had  perished  in  the  ship 
wreck  of  the  Schiller,  off  the  Scilly  Islands. 

During  his  journey  to  the  place  where  the  lament 
able  accident  occurred,  Dr.  Hoggan  had  to  change 
trains,  and  on  entering  another  carriage  he  found  an 
old  lady  engaged  in  a  vehement  discussion  on 
"  woman's  sphere."  The  opposition  was  maintained 
by  two  young  ladies,  who  were  evidently  staunch 
champions  of  a  woman's  right  to  make  use  of  her 
talents  for  her  own  advantage  as  well  as  for  the  good 
of  others.  As  the  veteran  representative  of  the  cling- 
ing-dependence-upon-man-theory  found  that  the  forces 
were  against  her,  she  turned  to  the  new-comer  for  sym 
pathy  and  assistance. 

"  I  am  sure,"  she  said,  "  that  this  gentleman  does 
not  approve  of  women  who  compete  with  men  in 
trades  and  professions." 

"  On  the  contrary,  madam,"  Dr.  Hoggan  replied, 
"  I  am  quite  in  favor  of  women  undertaking  any  work 
for  which  they  are  fitted." 

"Surely,"  she  exclaimed  with  horror,  "the  idea  of 
a  woman  doctor  is  thoroughly  repulsive  to  you  ?  " 

"Certainly  not,"  he  answered  quietly,  "though  I 
am  a  medical  man  myself." 

"  I  am  certain  that  you  would  never  dream  of  mar 
rying  such  a  woman,"  she  cried,  thinking  now  at  least 
she  should  obtain  the  convincing  answer  wherewith 
most  to  discomfit  her  young  marriageable  opponents. 

"  Madam,"  replied  Dr.  Hoggan  placidly,  "  that  is 
6 


122  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

just  what  I  have  done.     My  wife  is  a  doctor  in  Lon 
don,  with  an  excellent  practice."      Tableau. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  during  my  first  visit  to 
America  once  again  to  meet  a  woman  I  had  held  in 
special  honor  ever  since  I  had  made  her  acquaintance 
abroad.  Charlotte  Cushman's  fascination  of  manner, 
to  my  mind  far  above  mere  beauty  of  feature,  with 
her  marvellous  charm  of  expression  and  boundless 
humor,  had  always  an  irresistible  attraction  for  me 
both  on  and  off  the  stage,  while  her  pure  and  noble 
life  and  generous  actions  commanded  a  respect  sel 
dom  given  to  those  so  often  contemptuously  denomi 
nated  "  playactors."  Miss  Cushman  loved  the  art 
she  adorned  with  a  devoted  singleness  of  purpose, 
and  showed  the  world  that  a  woman  may  be  sans 
peur  et  sans  reproche  in  this  perilous  profession.  She 
was  giving  a  series  of  readings  at  this  time  in  the 
principal  cities  in  America.  Her  powerful  intellect 
and  passionate  nature,  combined  with  her  personal 
magnetism  and  wonderful  deep-toned  voice,  enabled 
her  to  hold  her  audiences  as  spellbound  throughout 
her  recitals  as  she  ever  did  in  her  famous  representa 
tions  of  "  Meg  Merriles,"  "  Lady  Macbeth,"  or  "  Queen 
Katharine."  As  a  reader  she  was  more  than  the  peer 
of  her  sister  artist  Fanny  Kemble,  whose  recital  of 
"  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  "  in  Exeter  Hall  gave 
me,  in  the  days  of  my  youth,  my  first  dramatic  in 
spiration.  Indeed  Miss  Cushman  had  genius  of  the 
highest  order.  Her  acting  had  a  magnetic  effect 
upon  those  on  the  stage  with  her;  for  the  time  being 
she  lifted  them  up  to  a  level  near  her  own,  for  the 
atmosphere  of  genius  is  felt  behind  the  footlights  as 
much  as  it  is  in  the  auditorium.  Her  two  watchwords 


MR.    SOTHERN.  123 

were  "  Devotion  and  Work/'  secrets  of  success  which 
aspirants  for  dramatic  honors,  however  celebrated, 
would  do  well  to  take  to  heart,  for  no  great  eminence 
can  be  ever  reached  without  them. 

Before  I  pass  away  from  the  reminiscences  con 
nected  with  this  gifted  artist,  I  must  narrate  an  amus 
ing  experience  in  which  Mr.  Sothern  was  involved. 
Some  years  ago  a  London  Shipping  Company  gave  a 
grand  banquet  on  a  new  steamer  about  to  start  for 
Australia.  I  was  sitting  between  Miss  Cushman  and 
Mr.  Sothern,  and  soon  after  the  speeches  commenced 
he  leaned  behind  my  chair  and  whispered  something 
to  Miss  Cushman,  who  at  the  same  moment  placed 
her  hand  on  her  forehead  and  gave  a  tragic  groan,  as 
if  in  sudden  pain.  "  Lord  Dundreary  "  started  up, 
and  while  confusion  reigned,  gallantly  offered  to  lead 
her  into  "  fresh  air  on  deck."  Taking  her  by  the  arm, 
he  carefully  escorted  her  from  the  crowded  saloon, 
with  every  sign  of  anxious  solicitude,  to  the  carriage 
which  conveyed  them  both  from  the  docks.  Not  a 
suspicion  of  the  truth  crossed  the  minds  of  those 
present,  the  rapid  exit  excited  profound  sympathy,  and 
for  a  moment  even  cast  a  gloom  over  the  company. 
Years  afterward  I  happened  to  be  in  the  Manchester 
Theatre  on  Mr.  Sothern's  benefit  night,  when  he*  was 
bound  to  address  the  audience  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  play.  He  began  by  confessing  that  speech-making 
was  an  ordeal  he  had  always  dreaded,  and  that  in 
strict  confidence  he  would  tell  how  he  once  evaded  it 
in  the  presence  of  a  lady  "  now  in  the  stage-box  "  to 
his  right.  Mr.  Sothern  then  explained  the  mystery 
of  the  sudden  departure  from  that  steamer  banquet. 
On  receiving  a  slip  of  paper  from  the  chairman  toward 


124  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  end  of  the  dtjeuner,  asking  him  to  respond  to  some 
toast,  a  happy  thought  struck  him.  He  begged  Miss 
Cushman  to  be  taken  ill  immediately.  Her  ready 
and  clever  compliance  with  his  request  enabled  him 
to  escape  from  the  dilemma,  and  to  leave  without 
detection  or  loss  of  dignity,  for  every  one  supposed 
that  with  commendable  chivalry  he  was  sacrificing 
the  rest  of  the  day's  enjoyment  in  order  to  escort  a 
sick  friend  home. 

No  one  should  leave  Chicago  without  visiting  the 
model  village  built  by  Mr.  George  M.  Pullman,  the 
inventor  of  the  palace  car  which  bears  his  name. 
About  twelve  miles  from  the  city,  on  the  banks  of 
Lake  Calumet,  is  one  of  the  prettiest  towns  I  saw  in 
the  West,  built  not  only  for  the  manufacturing  of 
these  luxurious  railroad  cars,  but  for  the  health  and 
comfort  of  the  3,000  men  who  are  employed  in  making 
them.  Picturesque  brick  houses,  costing  from  1,500 
to  15,000  dollars,  arranged  in  flats,  containing  all 
modern  appliances,  have  been  built  in  rows,  and  are 
rented  by  the  work-people  at  prices  corresponding  to 
size  and  location.  The  town  is  lighted  with  gas,  has 
a  good  water-supply,  and  a  thorough  system  of  drain 
age.  There  is  not  a  drinking  saloon  in  the  whole 
place,  though  wine  can  be  purchased  at  the  hotel, 
which  has  been  opened  for  the  convenience  of  vis 
itors.  "  The  Arcade,"  an  immense  store,  supplies  all 
the  necessaries  of  life,  and  a  farm  near  the  outskirts 
provides  the  milk,  butter,  and  vegetables  consumed 
by  the  inhabitants  of  this  happy  village,  which  ex 
tends  over  4,000  acres  of  prairie  land,  and  has  already 
cost  its  founder  about  six  millions  of  dollars.  Churches 
have  been  built,  and  excellent  schools,  and  that  great 


A    MODEL    TOWN.  125 

boon,  a  public  library,  has  been  opened,  with  10,000 
books  selected  by  Mrs.  Pullman,  who  has  taken  the 
greatest  interest  in  helping  to  secure  the  welfare  of 
the  place  ever  since  the  first  stone  was  laid  in  1880. 
"  I  believed  that  workmen  would  appreciate  stylish 
homes,  so  I  resolved  to  try  the  experiment,"  said  Mr. 
Pullman,  "  and  it  is  a  complete  success."  Undoubt 
edly  the  employer's  best  policy  is  to  elevate  the  tastes 
of  the  people.  Nice  surroundings  make  men  better 
citizens.  "Our  poorest  workmen,"  continued  Mr. 
Pullman,  "  can  now  get  a  comfortable  house  in  Pull 
man,  and  we  are  daily  seeing  good  results  from  it." 

The  Allen  Paper  Car-Wheel  Company,  in  which 
Mr.  Pullman  has  an  interest,  has  also  pitched  its  tent 
in  this  model  town,  for  there  is  a  growing  tendency 
to  remove  great  factories  out  of  the  city  limits ;  ac 
cordingly,  "  Hyde  Park,"  which  begins  at  Thirty-ninth 
Street,  and  runs  along  Lake  Michigan  toward  Indi 
ana,  has  become  a  huge  town,  and  is  a  perfect  hive  of 
industries. 

Mr.  Pullman  would  not  allow  the  purchase  of  prop 
erty  within  the  boundaries  of  his  own  domains,  as  he 
fears  it  would  deprive  "  the  projectors  of  the  enter 
prise  "  of  the  power  to  enforce  their  own  ideas  as  to 
architecture  as  well  as  government  ;  but  to  make 
the  place  easy  of  access,  at  a  cheap  rate,  he  has 
opened  a  railway  connecting  his  model  town  with 
the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  and  Pennsyl 
vania  Railroads. 

In  one  of  Will  Carleton's  remarkable  farm  ballads 
there  is  a  story  showing  that  even  wedded  bliss  is  not 
appreciated  without  "  fifteen  minutes'  experience  "  of 
the  other  side  of  the  picture,  and  I  am  certain  that 


126  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

no  traveller  accustomed  to  Pullman  cars  will  prize 
them  properly  till  he  has  had  to  leave  the  main  routes 
and  travel  long  distances  over  lines  where  such 
luxuries  are  unobtainable. 

Once  I  imagined  I  had  reached  the  lowest  depth 
of  American  railway  travelling  when  I  found  myself 
compelled  to  take  the  ordinary  car.  A  journey 
through  the  wilds  of  Wisconsin  taught  me  other 
wise.  I  was  even  condemned  to  a  freight,  that  is,  a 
cattle  train,  to  which,  for  the  accommodation  of 
human  passengers,  a  "caboose"  is  attached.  This, 
being  interpreted,  means  a  kind  of  luggage  van,  in 
which  seats  are  placed,  and  you  find  your  only  chance 
of  getting  to  your  destination  is  to  take  your  place 
with  fellow-travellers  who,  not  to  put  too  fine  a  point 
upon  it,  stand  in  terrible  need  of  the  national  piece 
of  china  known  as  "  a  spittoon,"  but  which,  unhappily, 
is  a  little  refinement  beyond  this  mode  of  locomotion. 
I  penetrated  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Minnesota, 
where  the  wolves  still  haunt  the  woods,  and  occasion 
ally  commit  havoc  in  the  "  deer  parks  ";  where  open 
buggies  with  pairs  of  utterly  untrained  horses  met 
me  at  the  depots,  and  conveyed  me,  after  various 
perils,  to  the  hotel  of  the  town,  and  in  which  I 
often  encountered  food  and  society  of  the  very 
strangest  description.  How  gladly  I  returned  to 
Chicago  and  the  Palmer  House,  with  its  excellent 
cuisine,  can  never  be  described !  I  left  the  city  in  all 
the  glories  of  a  curiously  late  Indian  summer,  and 
found  her  white  with  the  first  beautiful  snow  of  the 
season,  ringing  with  the  sound  of  the  sleigh  bells, 
and  hospitable  as  ever, — dinners  and  luncheons  for 
me,  and  sleigh  drives  and  dances  for  the  young  friend 


THE    CINCINNATI    FLOOD.  I2/ 

who  accompanied  me  in  my  third  series  of  wander 
ings  through  this  vast  country. 

The  visit  to  Cincinnati  which  naturally  remains 
most  vividly  impressed  upon  my  mind  is  the  time  I 
spent  there  during  the  great  flood  of  1883.  I  arrived 
on  the  nth  of  February,  in  time  to  lecture  at  the 
Grand  Opera-House  in  the  afternoon.  I  found  the 
city  besieged  by  a  raging  river — in  fact,  just  com 
mencing  a  terrible  struggle  with  the  mighty  Ohio, 
which  had  overflowed  its  banks,  and  was  then  rising 
rapidly.  Some  of  my  audience  had  already  found 
the  bridges  impassable,  and  had  actually  crossed 
from  the  Kentucky  side  in  skiffs.  When  the  lecture 
was  over  I  was  driven  through  the  flooded  districts 
as  far  as  carriage  and  horses  dare  venture,  and  I  saw 
a  picture  of  desolation  which  I  shall  not  easily  forget. 
Stout  hearts  and  hands  were  busy  trying  to  save 
household  goods  and  property  of  all  descriptions ; 
women  and  children  were  being  rescued  in  boats 
through  the  windows  of  their  houses,  having  clung 
with  a  natural  but  imprudent  tenacity  to  their  homes 
to  the  very  last  moment.  Cattle  unwisely  left  in 
their  quarters  in  the  same  vain  spirit  of  hopefulness 
were  standing  nearly  up  to  their  backs  in  water, 
and  all  kinds  of  things  were  floating  through  the 
streets  beside  the  boats  which  were  speeding  on  their 
errands  of  mercy  through  the  inundated  parts  of  the 
stricken  city.  When  the  shades  of  night  fell  upon 
Cincinnati,  men  became  conscious  that  their  gravest 
apprehensions  were  about  to  be  realized. 

Before  morning  dawned  the  waterworks  and  gas 
works  were  both  under  water,  and  for  days  the  city 
was  in  darkness,  save  for  a  few  electric  lights 


128  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

and  the  oil  lamps  and  candles  hastily  secured  for 
household  use.  On  the  I3th  it  was  hoped  that  the 
raging  river  had  reached  its  maximum — the  waters 
had  already  crept  up  until  they  had  exceeded  the 
famous  record  of  the  last  flood  in  1832  ;  but  the  hours 
wore  on,  and  though  at  one  time  the  waste  of  waters 
began  to  decline,  in  the  evening  a  pitiless  rain  came 
down  in  torrents  for  hours,  and  by  the  morning  the 
awful  flood  started  again  on  its  upward  course.  The 
river  rose  at  the  rate  of  nearly  two  inches  an  hour, 
and  houses  and  stores  were  seized  in  its  relentless 
grasp  that  were  quite  expected  to  escape  destruction. 
I  was  dining  that  night  with  some  representative 
Cincinnati  people,  and  the  excitement  betrayed  by 
the  gentlemen  who  all  day  long  had  been  watching 
the  loss  of  their  valuable  property,  and  striving  to 
carry  help  to  the  human  victims  of  this  fearful  inun 
dation,  was  in  marked  contrast  to  the  usual  calmness 
of  nineteenth-century  manners.  And  no  wonder; 
surrounded  by  the  rising  flood,  railroad  communica 
tion  endangered,  telegraph  wires  destroyed,  300  tele 
phone  instruments  under  water  already,  the  supply 
of  gas  and  water  cut  off,  who  could  say  what  would 
happen  before  the  end  was  reached  ?  And  v/hen 
Governor  Noyes — late  American  Minister  in  Paris — 
remarked  "  he  did  not  know  when  such  a  gloom  had 
possessed  this  city,"  every  heart  at  that  table  re 
sponded  to  the  truth  of  his  observation.  But  a 
month  before,  Cincinnati  had  forwarded  to  the  flooded 
districts  of  Germany  a  large  and  liberal  donation  in 
aid  of  the  sufferers  there,  little  dreaming  she  would 
so  soon  be  called  upon  to  face  a  calamity  of  even 
vaster  dimensions  within  her  own  walls.  Along  the 


THE    CINCINNATI    FLOOD.  I  29 

riverside  matters  were  at  their  worst.  Laurenceburg 
and  one-half  of  Aurora  were  under  water — in  fact, 
the  whole  cluster  of  towns  in  the  Ohio  valley  were 
completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  relentless  element. 
Hundreds  of  houses  were  from  ten  to  thirty  feet 
under  water,  the  people  were  driven  from  their  homes, 
and  the  court-houses  and  public  buildings  were 
crowded  with  those  who  escaped  with  their  lives  in 
their  hands,  while  all  they  possessed  was  ruthlessly 
destroyed. 

One  of  the  railroad  dep6ts  in  Cincinnati  was  swept 
away,  and  all  the  tracks  were  for  some  distance  under 
water.  The  theatres,  strange  to  say,  were  not  closed, 
though  only  the  hardiest  playgoers  ventured  out 
through  the  gloomy  streets ;  the  great  bulk  of  the 
people  felt  they  could  not  attempt  to  enjoy  them 
selves  surrounded  by  so  much  misery.  Added  to 
that,  there  was  no  gas,  so  the  stage  was  deprived  of 
footlights,  and  the  hastily  devised  electric  lights  did 
not  supply  their  places  very  satisfactorily.  Mrs 
Langtry  had  both  fire  and  water  to  combat  during 
her  first  American  tour.  Her  dcbftt  in  New  York 
was  delayed  by  the  Park  Theatre  fire,  and  her  engage 
ment  in  Cincinnati  seriously  damaged  by  the  flood ; 
indeed,  but  for  the  great  advance  sale  of  tickets  it 
would  have  been  completely  ruined.  As  it  was, 
ticket-holders  were  unable  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
seats  they  had  purchased,  for  the  people  were  afraid 
of  leaving  their  homes ;  consequently  the  theatre 
presented  a  cheerless  appearance,  and  the  electric 
light  played  strange  tricks  with  the  performers,  who 
were  followed  by  ghastly  shadows  of  strange  dimen 
sions  and  fantastic  shapes.  When  the  river  began  to 
6* 


I3O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

fall,  the  serious  question  arose  how  to  save  the  build 
ings,  which  it  was  feared  the  departing  waters  would 
carry  with  them. 

It  is  a  grand  thing  to  see  how  the  best  side  of 
human  nature  comes  to  the  front  in  moments  like 
these.  Money  poured  in  from  all  quarters,  and  Cin 
cinnati  merchants,  who  had  lost  heavily  themselves, 
gave  liberally  and  ungrudgingly  to  homeless  suffer 
ers  in  their  hour  of  need.  Nor  were  the  ladies  be 
hind  in  deeds  of  genuine  charity.  They  not  only 
carried  food  to  the  hungry,  but  were  busily  at  work 
for  days  making  clothes  for  the  shivering  women  and 
children  who  had  lost  not  only  their  homes  but  all 
their  worldly  possessions.  I  met  some  who  spared 
all  they  could  out  of  their  own  slender  wardrobes, 
thus  fulfilling  the  poet's  noble  idea  of  true  benevo 
lence — 

"  'Tis  not  what  \vzgtve, 
But  what  we  share  ; 
The  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare." 

The  newspapers  commenced  a  hot  controversy  re 
specting  the  causes  of  such  floods,  and  some  de 
nounced  the  destruction  of  the  forests,  and  declared 
that  the  overflowing  of  the  Ohio  was  due  to  the  dis 
appearance  of  the  forests  at  the  headwaters  and  along 
the  banks.  They  maintained  that  if  these  forests 
had  not  been  cut  down,  the  snow  would  have  melted 
far  more  slowly,  and  the  river  channel  might  have 
sufficed  to  carry  off  safely  the  increase  in  the  volume 
of  water,  and  advocated  the  cultivation  of  willows 
along  the  banks  as  well  as  the  better  protection  of 
the  trees. 


MR.    PROBASCO. 

There  is  a  humorous  side  to  every  human  calamity, 
and  this  great  flood  proved  no  exception  to  the  rule. 
People  at  once  began  to  plume  themselves  on  the 
fact  that  the  overflow  of  the  river  in  1832  could  no 
longer  be  held  up  to  them  as  the  greatest  ever  known 
in  Cincinnati.  Thorough-bred  Yankee  spirit  asserted 
itself  by  a  grim  satisfaction  that  this  generation  could 
now  boast  of  having  witnessed  the  most  terrible  over 
flow  of  the  Ohio— that  the  flood  of  1883  had  "  beaten 
all  other  famous  records  hollow." 

But  before  poor  Cincinnati  lay  in  waiting  not  only 
the  still  worse  flood  of  1884,  against  which  some  wise 
precautions  had  been  taken,  but  the  unexpected  three 
nights  of  terror,  during  which  about  200  people  lost 
their  lives,  when  a  lawless  mob,  reckless  of  life  and 
property,  devastated  the  city,  and  exulted  as  the 
flames  they  had  kindled  destroyed  its  public  build 
ings. 

It  will  always  be  impossible  for  me  to  disassociate 
Cincinnati  and  Mr.  Murat  Halstead,  the  spirited 
chief  of  its  leading  newspaper,  for  whose  family  dur 
ing  the  last  twelve  years  I  have  entertained  a  strong 
personal  friendship.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Halstead  have 
always  contributed  very  greatly  to  my  pleasure  while 
staying  in  their  neighborhood,  driving  me  to  all  the 
objects  of  interest  within  reach,  and  gathering  round 
them  in  their  own  house  the  friends  they  wished  me 
to  know.  Nor  can  visits  to  Mr.  Probasco's  beautiful 
home  at  Clifton  be  left  unrecorded.  I  found  there 
one  of  the  finest  libraries  I  saw  in  the  whole  country, 
and  some  very  fine  statues  and  works  of  art.  Some 
time  since  Mr.  Probasco  presented  Cincinnati  with  a 
magnificent  bronze  fountain,  standing  on  a  massive 


THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

base,  quatrefoil  in  form,  composed  of  blocks  of  Bava 
rian  porphyry.  The  pedestal  is  ornamented  with  four 
bas-relief  representations  of  the  material  use  of  water 
—steam,  water-power,  navigation,  and  fisheries.  The 
central  crowning  figure  is  "  the  genius  of  water,"  a 
woman  in  flowing  robes,  standing  on  the  shaft  with 
outstretched  arms,  while  the  water  descends  from  her 
hands  in  fine  spray.  This  munificent  gift,  which 
cost  50,000  dollars,  was  given  to  the  city  on  one  con 
dition,  that  it  should  be  daily  replenished  with  ice — 
a  condition  faithfully  fulfilled. 


CHAPTER  X. 

New  Year's  Day  [1884]  in  Colorado — The  Rocky  Mountains — 
Denver — Mrs.  Olive  Wright — Greeley — Ralph  Meeker — Dy 
namite  Agitators — Colorado  Springs — General  Palmer's  enter 
prise — Dr.  Solly — President  Tenny's  picnic  in  January — Jour 
ney  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  through  the  Grand  Canyon 
of  the  Arkansas — Salida — Marshall  Pass — Gunnison — Across 
the  desert  to  Salt  Lake  City. 

I  WATCHED  "  the  old  year  out  and  new  year  in  " 
under  the  shadow  of  the  majestic  range  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  in  the  midst  of  scenery  more  wild  and 
magnificent  than  anything  I  ever  imagined  before, 
more  than  6,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  yet, 
thanks  to  the  lightness  and  purity  of  the  atmosphere, 
I  could  breathe  there  with  a  freedom  seldom  vouch 
safed  to  an  asthmatic ;  and  though  the  thermometer 
was  at  zero,  such  was  the  power  of  the  sun  during 
the  morning  hours,  that  it  was  far  pleasanter  to  walk 
abroad  without  a  sealskin  than  with  one. 

No  wonder  that  invalids  have  sought  Colorado  as 
a  land  in  which  "  life  is  worth  living,"  and  become 
enthusiasts  about  a  climate  which  is  cool  in  summer 
and  balmy  in  winter — a  place  noted  for  its  exquisite 
blue  skies  and  transparent  atmosphere  as  well  as  its 
grand  scenery.  Of  course  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
there  is  no  bad  weather  in  Colorado,  but  it  is  cer 
tainly  safe  to  assert  that  the  belt  of  country  skirting 
the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  enjoys  an 
amount  of  sunshine  and  bright  weather  not  to  be 

(133) 


134  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

found  in  any  other  section  of  the  United  States ;  and 
the  mineral  springs — hot  and  cold,  sulphur,  soda,  and 
iron — are  too  numerous  to  mention,  those  of  Mani- 
tou  (six  miles  from  this),  Idaho,  and  Canyon  Creek, 
being  most  resorted  to  as  specifics  for  diseases  of 
many  kinds. 

I  left  Chicago  on  Saturday  morning,  and  trav 
elled  for  two  nights  and  a  day  without  leaving 
the  cars,  chiefly  over  barren  prairies  extending  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  across  the  Missouri  by  a  pictur 
esque  bridge,  which  I  saw  to  advantage  from  the  op 
posite  bank.  Here  the  track  became  more  interest 
ing;  and  at  last,  shortly  before  we  reached  Denver, 
the  Rocky  Mountains  came  in  sight,  and  for  the  first 
time  I  fully  appreciated  the  illusion  of  distance. 
When  our  train  seemed  quite  close  to  the  base  of 
these  mountains,  I  learned  that  we  were  more  than 
forty  miles  away ! 

Denver  was  chiefly  generous  to  me  in  the  matter 
of  rain.  Taking  advantage,  however,  of  the  first 
fine  day,  I  drove  with  Mrs.  Olive  Wright  round  the 
city  and  on  to  the  hills  beyond.  Women  have  al 
ways  been  remarkable  for  their  success  with  the 
young  of  their  own  species;  but  in  Mrs.  Wright  I 
met  a  lady  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  cattle-rais 
ing  and  colt-breaking.  We  have  one  lady  in  London 
who  has  turned  her  attention  from  the  study  of  the 
law  to  the  training  and  selling  of  horses,  and  who  is 
well  known  to  the  habitudes  of  Rotten  Row,  where 
she  may  be  seen  riding  the  horses  she  wishes  to  sell. 
There,  in  the  wild  life  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  it  was  not  perhaps  surprising  to  meet 
with  a  practical  advocate  of  "  cattle-raising  and  colt- 


DENVER.  135 

breaking  as  a  desirable  feminine  employment."  Nor 
is  Mrs.  Wright  the  first  in  the  field  in  Colorado.  In 
1869  a  girl  of  twenty-one  alighted  from  the  Denver 
coach,  and  secured  an  office,  in  which  she  opened  an 
agency  for  Singer's  sewing-machines.  She  had  been 
left,  at  the  death  of  her  parents,  a  mere  child  in  Il 
linois,  without  support,  and  had  struck  out  a  line  for 
herself  in  Chicago.  With  nothing  but  her  own  in 
dustry  and  courage  to  help  her,  she  secured  a  position 
as  teacher  in  the  Singer  office  in  that  city.  When 
she  asked  to  start  a  Denver  agency,  great  was  the 
astonishment  of  her  employers ;  but.  she  had  dis 
played  so  much  business  tact  they  resolved  to  let  her 
make  the  attempt.  She  had  energetic  men  in  rival 
establishments  to  contend  with,  but  she  rose  superior 
to  all  obstacles,  and  won  a  pronounced  success.  She 
then  married  a  cattle-dealer  whose  herds  were  num 
bered  by  thousands  ;  and  when  he  died,  leaving  her 
with  two  young  sons,  she  at  once  assumed  all  the 
vast  responsibilities,  and  became  one  of  the  leading 
cattle-dealers  not  only  of  Colorado,  but  of  the  United 
States.  Fortune  followed  every  venture  she  made, 
and  "  her  income  rolled  in  at  the  rate  of  from  100,000 
to  300,000  dollars  a  year."  The  month  before  I 
visited  Denver  she  became  the  wife  of  Bishop  War 
ren,  but  remains  proud  of  the  fact  that,  although  she 
was  once  so  poor,  she  owes  this  vast  fortune  chiefly 
to  her  own  industry  and  perseverance. 

I  was  somewhat  disappointed,  I  must  confess,  in 
the  Windsor  Hotel.  I  suppose  when  one  remembers 
how  the  city  stands  in  the  midst  of  an  alkali  desert — 
that  twenty  years  ago  it  was  a  sparsely-settled  vil 
lage  with  only  log-cabins,  in  which  dwelt  people  in 


136  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

constant  dread  of  Indians,  who  were  expected  to 
scalp  every  one  in  the  place  before  nightfall — it  is 
marvellous  to  think  what  has  been  already  accom 
plished  there  in  such  a  short  space  of  time,  and  in 
the  face  of  such  difficulties.  The  streets  are  full  of 
activity;  there  are  fine  houses  and  fast  horses;  car 
riages  are  to  be  seen  with  heraldic  crests  familiar  to 
Europeans,  but  somewhat  out  of  place  in  this  land 
of  equality.  "  Yes,"  said  a  friend,  in  answer  to  a  re 
mark  I  made,  "  it  reminds  me  of  the  old  saying,  peo 
ple  nowadays  use  coats  of  arms  who  wore  coats 
without  arms  a  few  years  back."  Considerable  ex 
travagance  is  also  to  be  seen — gorgeous  clothes  and 
pretentious  entertainments ;  but  at  the  same  time 
there  is  energy  and  liberality — schools  have  been 
built,  an  excellent  university  opened,  and  if  Denver 
has  the  faults,  she  has  also  the  virtues,  of  a  new 
wealthy  Western  city. 

The  Tabor  Opera  House  justly  ranks  as  one  of  the 
finest  theatres  in  America,  and  I  saw  it  under  the  best 
possible  circumstances.  The  Italian  Opera  Company 
arrived  in  Denver  during  one  of  my  visits  there,  and 
Colonel  Mapleson  kindly  invited  me  to  be  present  on 
the  opening  night  ;  so  I  not  only  heard  Gerster  sing, 
but  saw  the  rank,  fashion,  and  beauty  of  the  city  as 
sembled  to  welcome  her.  Patti  received  an  immense 
ovation  next  day,  but  I  had  to  leave  for  Greeley — a 
town  founded  by  Horace  Greeley  and  his  friend  Mr. 
Meeker,  on  strictly  temperance  principles.  The  In 
dians  not  only  resented  the  intrusion  of  the  white 
men,  but  were  rendered  furious  by  the  introduction 
of  the  agricultural  machines  they  brought  with  them, 
and  Mr.  Meeker  soon  fell  a  prey  to  their  vengeance. 


WOMEN    MINERS,  137 

The  Greeley  Tribune  is  still  conducted  by  a  son  of  the 
murdered  man.  Ralph  Meeker  is  one  of  the  ablest 
journalists  in  America.  He  has  travelled  so  much  in 
Europe  and  lived  so  long  abroad,  knows  England, 
France,  and  Russia  as  well  as  most  Londoners  know 
their  own  city,  that  he  is  thoroughly  cosmopolitan  ; 
and  many  of  his  friends  would  certainly  be  surprised 
if  they  could  have  a  glimpse  of  his  present  surround 
ings,  and  see  him  contentedly  settling  down  in  a 
place  where  the  most  stirring  event  is  the  addition  of 
a  new  irrigating  ditch  or  the  arrival  of  an  itinerant 
lecturer. 

Unfortunately  I  just  missed  the  meetings  of  the 
State  Agricultural  College  at  Denver,  at  which  Mrs. 
Olive  Wright  read  a  very  interesting  paper  on  "  What 
women  are  doing  in  Colorado."  Some  women  seem 
to  be  mining;  the  first  prize  at  the  last  State  fair 
was  taken  by  a  lady  for  skilful  horsemanship  and 
horse-breaking ;  and  much  of  the  value  of  the  domes 
tic  cattle  industry  is,  according  to  her  paper,  due  to 
them.  I  certainly  heard  of  girls  on  the  prairies,  who 
seemed  to  like  a  tramp  over  the  plains  in  search  of 
the  boundary  line  of  her  father's  "  claim  "  as  much  as 
the  daughter  of  a  British  sportsman  enjoys  a  morning 
on  a  Scotch  moor  during  the  grouse-shooting  season. 
They  become  as  used  to  handling  the  rifle  as  the  plough, 
and  many  of  the  pioneer  ladies  I  heard  of  were  pursu 
ing  their  studies  in  their  prairie  homes.  Some  have 
gone  through  trials  which  even  would  shake  the 
nerves  of  the  sterner  sex.  I  was  told  of  a  widow  who 
had  built  her  own  "  claim  shack/'  had  it  twice  blown 
away  by  tornadoes  and  once  burned  to  the  ground  in 
the  course  of  two  years ;  but  she  holds  on  to  the  life 


130  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

she  has  chosen,  and  in  face  and  form  is  the  embodiment 
of  health. 

I  was  in  Denver  when  the  Irish  agitator,  P.  J. 
Sheridan,  arrived.  He  was  met  at  the  depot  by 
prominent  citizens,  and  the  Mayor  took  the  chair  at 
his  lecture,  in  the  course  of  which  he  spoke  of  "  dynam 
ite  as  God's  chosen  instrument  at  this  period  of  the 
world's  history  "  !  The  Americans  were  very  indig 
nant  about  this  time  at  the  London  Times,  for  com 
plaining,  in  a  leader  on  this  subject,  that  "  an  open 
crusade  against  England  was  being  preached  in  Amer 
ica."  That,  perhaps,  may  be  too  broad  a  way  of  put 
ting  it,  but  it  seemed  to  me  very  strange  that  such  utter 
ances  as  those  of  Sheridan's,  and  others  I  could  cite, 
should  be  sanctioned  by  the  presence  of  any  official 
person.  Sheridan,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  suspected 
of  being  concerned  in  the  Phoenix  Park  tragedy,  when 
Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  and  Mr.  Burke  were  foully 
murdered,  and  the  efforts  of  the  English  Government 
to  secure  his  extradition  after  his  escape  to  America 
were  utterly  futile. 

Such  men  as  Sheridan  stir  up  endless  ill-feeling  be 
tween  the  two  countries.  In  an  interview  with  the 
reporter  of  the  Denver  Tribune,  after  declaring  that  he 
believed  England  could  be  made  bankrupt  by  what  he 
had  the  audacity  to  describe  as  "  scientific  warfare," 
he  proceeded  to  censure  the  United  States  Government 
for  "  submitting  calmly  to  insults  from  England,  such 
as  the  detention  in  prison  of  M'Sweeney  and  other 
American  citizens  without  trial  ";  he  stigmatized  the 
American  Minister,  Lowell,  as  "  a  flunky,"  and  said 
the  "  bulk  of  the  people  were  too  much  imbued  and 
anxious  to  cultivate  English  manners  and  customs, 


DYNAMITE    ADVOCATES.  139 

and  had  altogether  lost   the  pluck  their  forefathers 
showed  a  hundred  years  ago '' ! 

Nor  do  these  things  only  take  place  in  the  far  West. 
I  quote  from  a  New  York  paper,  of  March,  1884,  the 
following  account  of  the  Brady  Emergency  Club 
meeting  in  that  city,  in  which  it  says  that  the  "  en 
thusiasm  v/as  of  a  peculiarly  cyclonic  sort.  Streams 
of  British  blood,  blocks  of  exploding  British  buildings, 
and  acres  of  burning  British  houses  floated  about  the 
dark  little  hall  upon  the  traditionary  wings  of  Irish 
eloquence ;  and  dynamite,  dirks,  and  knotted  clubs 
seemed  ready  to  rise  up  from  beneath  the  dusty  floor 
and  form  in  grim  circles  about  the  speakers'  heads. 
Frank  Byrne,  who  at  one  time  was  very  badly 
wanted  by  the  peace-loving  detectives  of  England, 
gave  a  calm  but  cheerful  explanation  of  the  manner 
in  which  every  English  official  in  Ireland  might  be 
killed.  The  ordinary  weapons  of  warfare  were  un 
fit  to  meet  the  condition  of  the  Irish  people.  The 
most  potent  weapon  within  reach  he  declared  to 
be  dynamite.  In  addition  there  was  the  knife,  the 
torch,  the  club,  and  the  revolver.  Mr.  Byrne  further 
declared  that  to  kill  all  the  Englishmen  in  Ire 
land  was  the  sacred  duty  of  every  patriotic  son  of 
Erin.  English  cities  should  be  burned,  English 
barracks  blown  up,  Dublin  Castle  levelled  to  the 
ground,  and  a  viceregal  personage  killed  every  year 
until  the  stock  ran  out.  These  things  were  easy 
enough  to  do  if  the  men  in  Ireland  were  given  the 
means.  *  Learn  us  how  to  make  dynamite,'  shouted 
a  voice,  '  that's  all  we  want  ! '  When  the  disturbing 
element  had  been  subdued  permanently  the  club  went 
into  secret  session." 


I4O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Even  Mr.  Beecher  on  St.  Patrick's  Day  is  reported 
as  having  said  in  an  after-dinner  speech,  that  while  he 
deplored  it,  "  people  left  to  right  themselves  had  a 
right  to  use  whatever  weapons  their  ignorance  put 
into  their  hands" — a  remark  which  called  forth  such 
comment  that  subsequently  Mr.  Beecher  had  to  ex 
plain  that  he  did  not  mean  to  "  justify  the  use  of 
dynamite,  though  he  could  not  wonder,  in  the  condi 
tion  of  things  existing  among  the  more  ignorant 
classes,  that  they  should  be  led  to  the  adoption  of 
such  means." 

The  execution  of  O'Donnell  drew  forth  some  fiery 
speeches  at  Washington,  in  which  "  Representative 
Robinson  " — all  the  speakers  were  members  of  the 
House — indulged  in  the  following  extraordinary  re 
marks,  according  to  a  special  telegram  to  the  Chicago 
Inter-Ocean  : 

"  He  said  the  English  Government  was  the  most  despicable 
and  damnable  tyranny  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Referring  to 
Matthew  Arnold,  who  spoke  recently  here,  he  said  that  he 
couldn't  lecture  anyway.  He  dug  up  and  read  an  old  essay,  writ 
ten  ten  years  ago,  that  anybody  could  buy  for  half  a  cent,  and 
yet  all  the  would-be  lords,  the  snobs,  and  the  dudes  of  Washing 
ton  were  there  to  applaud  and  worship.  He  said  that  in  the 
ages  to  come  the  name  of  Patrick  O'Donnell  would  be  more 
loved  and  honored  by  patriotic,  liberty-loving  men  everywhere 
than  all  the  kings  and  queens  of  England.  He  proposed  before 
long  to  find  out  whether  the  House  of  Representatives  approved 
the  course  of  the  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James.  He  carried 
in  his  pocket  for  some  time  a  resolution  to  impeach  Mr.  Lowell, 
but  his  friends  had  dissuaded  him  from  introducing  it.  If  Min 
ister  Lowell  had  done  his  duty  O'Donnell  would  be  alive  to-day. 
James  Russell  Lowell  was  the  great-grandson  of  a  revolutionary 
Tory,  one  of  the  men  whom  George  Washington  hunted  into  the 
sea  in  1776,  as  St.  Patrick  drove  the  snakes  and  toads  from  the 


IRISH    AGITATORS    AT    WASHINGTON.      ,     141 

soil  of  Ireland.  The  descendant  of  a  degenerate  sire  had  main 
tained  the  reputation  of  his  family  in  this  respect.  Sixteen  years 
ago  Congress  passed  a  law  that  no  representative  of  this  Govern 
ment  at  foreign  courts  should  dress  himself  up  as  a  dude  to 
please  royal  eyes.  Not  long  ago  a  friend  of  the  speaker  called 
upon  Mr.  Lowell,  and  he  found  him  dressed  to  appear  at  court 
in  a  garment  that  was  a  hybrid  between  breeches  and  pantaloons, 
and  nobody  could  tell  what  it  was.  We  must  have  Lord  Russell 
Lowell  called  home.  He  ought  not  even  to  be  allowed  to  vote 
here,  for  the  speaker  didn't  believe  he  could  consistently  take 
the  oath  to  abjure  allegiance  to  Victoria,  Queen  of  England.  He 
was  not  in  any  sense  a  fit  man  to  represent  this  Government. 
He  said  he  would  not  vote  for  any  appropriation  to  support  any 
American  dudes  abroad.  Let  us  find  some  good  healthy  citizen 
out  West — Indiana  or  Missouri — who  wouldn't  be  afraid  to  let 
people  know  that  he  was  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  Lowell 
cost  this  Government  17,500  dollars  a  year.  He  could  find  a 
good  hoosier  from  Indiana,  or  a  puke  from  Missouri,  who  would 
far  more  worthily  represent  this  nation,  and  for  a  great  deal  less 
money.  Call  home  all  those  who  are  misrepresenting  us  abroad, 
and  let  the  money  we  pay  them  be  distributed  among  the  poor. 
Mr.  Robinson's  remarks  were  most  vigorously  applauded." 

The  next  speaker,  Representative  Finerty,  of  Chi 
cago,  commenced  by  observing  they  had  not  assem 
bled  "  for  oratorical  amusement,"  but  for  a  solemn 
purpose.  u  We  are  here,"  he  continued,  "to  lament 
the  impotency  of  this  mighty  Government  of  ours, 
that  has  been  scared  and  spit  upon  and  insulted  by  a 
nation  that  is  not  fit  to  blacken  her  shoes — a  nation 
whose  crowned  head  wears  petticoats  as  an  apology 
for  her  despicable  tyranny." 

While  such  utterances  are  received  by  cultured 
Americans  with  the  ridicule  and  disgust  they  natural 
ly  inspire,  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  is  not  often 
you  meet  with  people  across  the  Atlantic  who  do  not 


142  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

consider  that  Ireland  has  been  cruelly  and  persistent 
ly  wronged  by  England.  A  few  repudiate  "  the  in 
tolerable  insult  of  being  misrepresented  by  the  crowd 
of  Irish  malcontents  "  among  them,  and  consider  that 
shipping  dynamite  from  their  ports  to  England  "  is  a 
violation  of  the  usages  of  civilized  nations."  I  regret, 
however,  to  say  I  have  heard  even  that  justified  as  "  a 
tit-for-tat  retaliation  "  for  the  outrage  of  ''allowing 
armed  cruisers  to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of  Ameri 
ca."  Last  March  a  hope  was  expressed  by  an  English 
journal  that,  "  in  the  performance  of  an  evident  inter 
national  duty,  America  would  protect  England  from 
the  shipment  of  dynamite  by  Irish  revolutionists," 
and  a  newspaper  of  considerable  standing  in  the 
United  States  did  not  scruple  to  reply,  that  while  "  the 
American  people  detest  dynamiting,  they  also  detest 
piracy.  They  especially  detest  being  called  upon  by 
those  who  hold  the  accumulated  profits  of  four  years 
of  piracy  still  in  their  possession  to  protect  England 
from  any  of  the  natural  though  vexatious  conse 
quences  of  the  disaffection  of  her  subjects  on  the 
ground  that  this  is  an  evident  international  duty." 

From  Denver  to  Colorado  Springs  the  Rocky 
Mountains  seemed  to  increase  in  beauty  both  as  to 
variety  of  form  and  color.  I  shall  never  forget  that 
morning's  journey,  with  the  snow  slightly  spread  on 
the  ground,  and  sparkling  with  a  thousand  colors  in 
the  rays  of  a  burning  sun,  which  made  the  heat  of 
the  Pullman  car  so  oppressive  that  we  sought  the  free 
dom  of  the  "  platform  "  outside  as  we  crept  along  on 
the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  through  this  be 
wildering  maze  of  ravine-scarred  mountains.  When  I 
reached  my  destination  I  found  General  Palmer's  car- 


GEN.    PALMERS    PICTURESQUE    HOME.          143 

riage  waiting  for  me,  but,  greatly  to  my  disappoint 
ment,  he  and  Mrs.  Palmer  had  been  suddenly  sum 
moned  to  New  York ;  but  their  friends,  Mr.  Elwell 
and  Mrs.  Abby  Sage  Richardson,  were  ready  to  wel 
come  me  in  their  place  to  their  beautiful  mountain 
home,  Glen  Eyrie,  about  six  miles  from  Colorado 
Springs.  After  a  wild  drive  across  the  "  Mesa  " — the 
Spanish  for  plain — past  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  I 
found  myself  descending  an  almost  perpendicular 
road,  which  forcibly  suggested  a  devotional  exercise, 
as  well  as  the  prudent  course  of  holding  on  to  the 
wagonette,  and  there  at  the  foot  I  saw  a  literal  reali 
zation  of  Cowper's  desire  for  "  a  lodge  in  some  vast 
wilderness,"  at  the  entrance  of  a  deep  ravine  at  the 
foot  of  Pike's  Peak — a  region  already  well  known  to 
English  readers  through  Bret  Harte,  and  Colonel 
John  Hay's  "  Pike  County  Ballads."  The  lodge  gates 
opened  at  our  approach,  and  after  a  drive  of  consid 
erable  length  up  this  wild  canyon,  amid  fantastic  ver 
milion-colored  rocks  a  hundred  feet  high,  we  came  to 
the  stables,  and  then  another  turn  in  the  road  gave 
me  a  full  view  of  the  picturesque  house  General  Pal 
mer  built  in  this  romantic  gorge  some  ten  years  ago, 
much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians,  who 
watched  the  process  with  considerable  indignation  at 
the  white  man's  encroachment  on  their  territory,  but 
wisely  abandoned  their  wigwams,  and  retired  from 
the  fruitless  struggle  into  Mexico  and  elsewhere. 

It  seems  very  strange  to  find  in  the  midst  of  this 
wild  country,  and  in  the  very  heart  of  this  ravine,  so 
perfectly  appointed  a  house,  and  to  spend  our  Christ 
mas  Day  after  the  Old  World  fashion — a  splendid 
Christmas  tree  having  been  decked  out  with  the  usual 


144  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

bonbons,  presents,  and  gay-colored  candles,  and 
placed  in  the  library  for  the  special  benefit  of  the 
eldest  little  daughter  of  the  house,  who  had  not  only 
many  gifts  herself,  but  had  prepared  presents  for  all 
the  servants  and  children  of  the  retainers  on  the  es 
tate,  who  trooped  in  freely  at  the  appointed  hour, 
taking  their  places  on  the  sofas  and  arm-chairs  with 
the  true  American  spirit  of  brotherhood  and  equality, 
which  even  the  English  butler  and  other  servants 
from  across  the  Atlantic  seemed  to  share.  Then  came 
a  dinner  for  the  "grown-up"  guests,  with  the  usual 
crackers,  apt  quotations  from  Gilbert's  famous  "  Bab 
Ballad  "  about  the  origin  of  the  strange  mottoes  found 
therein,  and  after  a  due  amount  of  startling  tales  of 
adventure  by  land  and  sea,  and  witty  local  stories,  the 
piano  came  into  request,  and  a  German  lady  staying 
in  the  house  "  discoursed  sweet  music,"  and  some 
Christmas  carols  sung  by  her  daughters  concluded  our 
evening's  entertainment.  Seldom  have  I  heard  Bee 
thoven,  Chopin,  and  Mendelssohn  better  interpreted 
by  even  professional  players. 

I  must  record  one  very  remarkable  incident  of  that 
Christmas  Day.  A  great  storm  of  wind  swept  over 
the  Colorado  plains,  and  even  managed  to  effect  an 
entrance  into  this  weird  but  secluded  nook.  It  shook 
the  house  to  its  very  foundation,  and  it  was  fortunate 
that  all  the  guests  had  arranged  to  stay  till  the  next 
day,  for  no  one  could  have  crossed  the  Mesa  on  so 
wild  a  night.  We  really  trembled  for  the  chimneys, 
the  hothouses  and  the  conservatories,  but,  strange  to 
relate,  no  damage  was  done.  As  morning  dawned  the 
wind  ceased,  and  the  dazzling  sun  tempted  all  lovers 
of  outdoor  exercise  into  the  pathless  woods  and  up 


GLEN    EYRIE.  145 

the  mountain-sides ;  but  when  the  news  of  the  outer 
world  reached  us,  no  one  was  surprised  to  hear  that  a 
few  miles  away  a  freight  train  of  nine  heavily-loaded 
cars  had  been  blown  off  the  railway  track  at  Monu 
ment  Park,  a  place  which  is  exposed  to  the  full  force 
of  the  wind  as  it  sweeps  in  its  mad  career  over  plains 
extending  hundreds  of  miles. 

I  used  the  expression,  news  from  the  outer  world, 
advisedly,  for  no  postman  desecrated  the  mountain 
seclusion  of  Glen  Eyrie.  If  the  mail-bag  was  wanted, 
a  mountain  messenger  had  to  be  sent  to  Colorado 
Springs,  and  no  New  York  paper  reached  there  till  it 
was  five  days  old.  My  dependence  upon  the  morn 
ing  newspaper  has  been  a  standing  joke  against  me ; 
for  ever  since  I  learned  to  take  an  interest  in  matters 
beyond  the  home  which  first  sheltered  me,  I  have 
always  regarded  it  as  quite  as  essential  to  my  well- 
being  as  my  breakfast,  and  never  before  had  I  found 
myself  totally  unable  to  procure  this  adjunct  to  a 
comfortable  existence.  Not  even  the  little  sheet  pub 
lished  in  Colorado  Springs  could  reach  Glen  Eyrie  by 
the  accustomed  breakfast-hour.  Strange  to  say,  in 
that  new  land,  amid  those  new  sights  and  associ 
ations,  I  found  myself  settling  down  to  this  novel 
state  of  things  with  the  utmost  composure,  though, 
I  confess,  the  opening  of  the  mail-bag,  with  the  pos 
sibilities  of  English  newspapers  and  letters,  was  al 
ways  an  event  creating  great  excitement,  and  a  New 
Year's  greeting  from  dear  old  Manchester,  in  the 
shape  of  some  photographs,  was  a  welcome  and  op 
portune  arrival  on  the  very  day  itself,  when  the  mes 
senger  returned  early  in  the  afternoon,  after  making 
a  special  expedition  to  the  post-office  on  my  behalf. 
7 


146  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

As  the  days  passed  by  in  far  too  swift  succession, 
the  better  I  appreciated  the  enthusiasm  of  those  who 
had  made  Colorado,  with  its  marvellous  mountains, 
prairies,  lakes,  and  waterfalls,  their  home,  and  no  one 
could  be  admitted  into  the  delightful  society  to  be 
found  in  the  unique  town  of  Colorado  Springs  with 
out  being  impressed  with  the  fact  that  it  is  a  most 
cosmopolitan,  as  well  as  cultured  community,  drawn 
from  all  parts  of  the  earth.  The  "  far  West,"  so  often 
represented  as  a  "wilderness,"  given  over  to  the  reign 
of  the  wild  "  riotous  ranchman,"  where  a  race  of  igno 
rant  backwoodsmen  can  alone  be  expected,  is  in  re 
ality  peopled  by  the  adventurous  sons  of  Britain,  and 
young  collegians  from  the  more  crowded  Eastern 
States  of  America.  Colorado  Springs  is,  in  fact,  a 
very  exceptional  place,  for  its  wonderful  health-giving 
properties  have  attracted  some  of  the  best  people 
from  other  cities,  and  it  is  really  a  charming  resort. 
The  streets  are  lined  with  trees — there  are  more  than 
7,000  in  this  small  town — and  there  are  few  days  in 
the  year  when  even  invalids  can  not  venture  out  of 
doors.  The  dryness  of  the  ground,  the  electric  air, 
and  the  bright  warm  sunshine  render  croquet  and 
tennis  pleasurable  pursuits  even  in  winter.  No  liquor 
can  be  sold,  as  every  deed  of  land  contains  the  forfeit 
ure  clause  ;  nevertheless  wine  is  to  be  found  on  the 
tables  of  the  hospitable  and  wealthy  inhabitants. 

One  of  the  best  doctors  in  Colorado  Springs  is  an 
Englishman,  a  nephew  of  Mr.  Solly,  who  has  done  so 
much  for  working-men's  clubs  in  England.  Dr.  Solly 
is  quite  the  leading  spirit  of  this  Western  colony,  first 
and  foremost  in  every  progressive  measure.  "  Rent 
ing  out  rooms  "  used  to  be  a  feature  of  life  at  the 


THE    ANTLERS    HOTEL.  ,    147 

Springs,  but  latterly  it  has  proved  quite  insufficient 
to  accommodate  the  invalids  and  tourists  who  come 
in  increasing  numbers  every  year.  "  In  fact,"  said 
Dr.  Solly,  "  the  problem  I  have  had  to  solve  has  been 
how  to  house  the  outcast  rich"  and  the  building  of  the 
Antlers  Hotel  was  the  way  in  which  that  difficulty 
was  met.  Scotch  enterprise  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  project  in  the  person  of  Mr.  James  Caird,  of 
Dundee,  and  a  handsome  house  of  quarry-faced  lava 
stone,  capable  of  holding  more  than  100  persons,  with 
broad  piazzas  commanding  a  lovely  view  of  the  sur 
rounding  mountains,  was  opened  about  two  years 
ago.  It  is  managed  by  a  lady,  who  has  shown  singular 
executive  ability,  and  I  shall  always  remember  with 
pleasure  the  days  I  spent  in  "the  bridal  suite,"  which 
was  very  handsomely  assigned  for  my  use  during  my 
stay  there. 

The  windows  of  my  sitting-room  looked  out  on  the 
mountains,  the  lofty  summit  of  Pike's  Peak,  14,30x3 
feet  high,  towering  above  them  all.  As  I  write  now 
in  the  noise  and  smoke  of  London,  I  vividly  recall 
the  hours  spent  in  watching  the  marvellous  panoramic 
changes  that  passed  over  the  scene  before  me  then. 
The  rosy  tints  at  dawn,  the  intense  blue,  the  exquisite 
golden  glow  of  sunset,  and  the  great  peaks  standing 
out  like  weird,  majestic  phantoms  through  those  clear, 
starlight  nights. 

The  day  after  I  had  taken  up  my  abode  at  the 
Antlers,  Miss  Warren,  the  manager,  called  to  see  if  I 
had  everything  I  required  in  the  hotel.  During  the 
conversation  which  ensued  she  surprised  me  by  say 
ing  that  she  had  reason  "  to  be  very  grateful  "  to  me. 
"  How  could  this  be,  considering  I  had  never  seen 


148  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

her  before  in  my  life?"  was  my  natural  rejoinder. 
Then  followed  the  strange  and  pleasing  explanation. 
She  had  been  at  Cincinnati  during  the  great  flood  of 
1883,  and  was  in  some  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  un 
dertaking  the  responsible  position  offered  her  at  the 
Antlers.  She  was  feeling  too  dispirited  to  believe  in 
her  capacity  for  properly  filling  the  novel  post  of 
manager.  She  could  not  even  purchase  the  hotel  fur 
niture  she  had  gone  there  to  buy,  for  the  town  was 
almost  in  darkness,  and  the  inhabitants  were  full  of 
the  calamity  that  had  come  upon  them.  During  that 
period  she  saw  my  lecture  on  "  Woman's  Work  "  ad 
vertised,  and  she  resolved  to  hear  it.  It  appears  that 
I  made  some  remarks  that  inspired  her  with  courage, 
and  enabled  her  to  see  her  way  clear  before  her.  She 
determined  to  enter  upon  the  work  she  subsequently 
carried  on  with  so  much  credit  to  herself  and  satis 
faction  to  her  employers,  and  often  had  she  wished 
to  thank  me  for  the  encouragement  so  unwittingly 
given  on  that  occasion.  Earnest  workers,  engaged 
in  public  work  of  any  description,  will  appreciate  the 
feelings  with  which  I  received  such  unexpected  testi 
mony,  for  they  know  how  very  futile,  and  easily  dis 
pensed  with,  seem  one's  best  efforts,  and  will  readily 
understand  how  such  a  definite  proof  of  help  afforded 
to  some  unknown  conscientious  but  doubting  heart 
not  only  renews  your  own  hope,  but  stimulates  you 
to  fresh  activity. 

Twelve  years  ago  there  was  hardly  a  house  to  be 
seen  in  Colorado  Springs,  and  it  owes  its  existence 
entirely  to  General  Palmer's  enterprise.  The  town 
site  was  bought  for  I  dollar  and  25  cents  an  acre ;  to 
day  residence  lots  of  50  feet  cost  about  2,000  dollars 


COLORADO    SPRINGS.  149 

and  business  lots  of  25  feet  are  worth  5,000  dollars. 
Why  it  should  have  been  called  Colorado  Springs  I 
can  not  tell,  for  it  possesses  none ;  these,  however, 
are  to  be  found  five  miles  off,  at  Manitou  (which  pre 
serves  its  Indian  name,  "  Spirit  of  the  Waters  "),  where 
the  celebrated  soda  and  iron  springs  abound,  and  a 
flourishing  town  has  also  sprung  up.  Canon  Kingsley 
spent  much  of  his  time  in  America  as  the  guest  of 
Dr.  Bell,  a  London  physician,  who  settled  at  Man 
itou,  after  aiding  General  Palmer  in  his  long  explora 
tions  through  this  region,  long  before  the  Indians  and 
buffaloes  had  departed  and  the  trains  had  arrived. 

In  1870,  when  General  Palmer  projected  the  Den 
ver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway,  the  largest  city  in  the 
huge  State  of  Colorado  could  scarcely  claim  5,000  in 
habitants,  and  the  entire  population  of  the  vast  State 
was  only  40,000 ;  yet  hardly  were  1,200  miles  of  rail 
way  built,  when  new  cities  throughout  Colorado  de 
veloped  with  surprising  rapidity.  In  this  remote 
mountain  region  of  the  "  Springs,"  the  capital  of 
El  Paso  county,  is  now  found  a  town  capable  of  sup 
porting  an  endowed  college,  eight  churches,  a  hand 
some  club,  and  an  opera-house,  at  which  there  is  a 
fair  stock  company.  Good- travelling  theatrical  com 
binations  often  visit  it.  I  found  the  Boston  Ideal 
Opera  Company  in  possession  last  New  Year's  Day, 
and  it  is  always  crammed  from  floor  to  ceiling  for 
amateur  entertainments,  which  are  as  popular  in  this 
isolated  Western  sanitorium  as  in  the  more  robust 
cities  in  the  Eastern  States.  Theatrical  enterprises 
for  the  benefit  of  local  charities  usually  take  place 
under  the  generalship  of  Dr.  Solly,  who  is  not  only  a 
very  clever  actor,  but  a  first-rate  manager.  This 


I5O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

active,  public-spirited  gentleman  spares  no  pains  to 
have  dresses  and  cast  as  perfect  as  he  can  make 
them.  Rehearsals  are  carried  on  day  after  day  as 
carefully  as  if  the  amateur  players  depended  for  their 
daily  bread  upon  the  success  of  the  play  they  have 
undertaken  to  produce.  An  ambitious  but  really  ad 
mirable  performance  of  "  The  Wolf  in  Sheep's 
Clothing"  came  off  during  my  stay  there,  in  which 
Miss  Stretell — sister-in-law  of  Comyns  Carr  of  "  Far 
from  the  Madding  Crowd  "  and  "  Called  Back  "  dra 
matic  notoriety — greatly  distinguished  herself.  Con 
sidering  how  large  a  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Colorado  Springs  are  regarded  as  invalids,  I  was  ab 
solutely  astonished  at  the  gaiety  which  prevailed  in 
this  secluded  nook  among  the  mountains.  There  were 
not  only  literary  debating  clubs,  popular  lectures, 
select  poetical  readings  by  Mrs.  Abby  Sage  Richard 
son  (one  of  the  best  read,  most  cultured  ladies  I  ever 
met),  but  dinners,  picnics,  and,  last  but  not  least, 
balls,  which  were  kept  up  with  great  spirit  long  after 
the  sun  arose  the  next  morning ! 

The  marked  features  of  the  Colorado  climate  are 
the  dry  air  and  clear  sunlight.  President  Tenney 
told  me  that,  according  to  the  observation  of  six  con 
secutive  years,  there  was  an  average  of  300  clear  and 
fine  days  in  each.  No  wonder  that  the  breathless 
asthmatic  or  consumptive  patient  exclaims,  with 
Shakespeare's  heroine  in  the  Forest  of  Arden,  "  I 
like  this  place,  and  willingly  would  spend  my  time  in 
it."  I  believe  that  P.  T.  Barnum  once  said  that  the 
Colorado  people  were  the  most  disappointed  he  ever 
saw.  "  Two-thirds  of  them  came  here  to  die,"  he 
exclaimed,  "  and  they  cant  do  it  !  This  wonderful 


PIKES    PEAK    SIGNAL    STATION.  151 

air  brings  them  back  from  the  verge  of  the  tomb." 
But  the  region  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  offers  in 
ducements  of  many  other  kinds  :  the  active  man  finds 
boundless  opportunities  in  cattle  ranches,  sheep-keep 
ing,  and  horse-raising,  to  say  nothing  of  the  coal, 
iron,  lead,  silver,  and  even  gold  with  which  the  State 
abounds;  while  the  sportsman  is  attracted  by  the 
wild  deer,  antelope,  and  elk,  and  more  dangerous 
game  in  the  shape  of  wolves  and  bears,  which  still 
infest  the  forests  of  pine  and  cedar.  How  the  heart 
of  "  Red  Spinner"  would  rejoice  in  the  trout-fishing 
to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lord  Dunraven's 
estate,  "  Estes  Park,"  and  revel  in  the  speckled 
beauties  of  the  finny  tribe  that  haunt  the  streams 
and  lakes  of  Colorado  !  While  the  invalid  is  restored 
to  health  by  the  mineral  springs  and  the  soft  yet  ex 
hilarating  air,  the  overworked  merchant  from  some 
crowded  city  also  finds  the  completest  freedom  from 
letters,  telegrams,  and  newspapers  in  the  recesses  of 
these  mountains,  where  there  is  indeed  "  a  solitude 
where  none  intrude."  The  signal  station  on  Pike's 
Peak  is  said  to  be  the  highest  habitation  in  the  world. 
Little  we  think  as  we  read  "  the  weather  probabili 
ties  "'of  how  the  men  on  that  snowbound  rocky  sum 
mit,  2,000  miles  west  of  New  York,  flash  down  the 
mountain-side  and  over  the  wild  prairies  of  America, 
the  information  gathered  from  the  signs  they  have 
learned  to  interpret  by  the  use  of  the  meteorological 
instruments  which  have  found  their  way  to  that  wild 
outpost. 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  any  idea  of  "  The  Garden 
of  the  Gods,"  with  its  massive  red  sandstone  portals, 
380  feet  high,  the  various  wild  mountain  passes, 


152  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Rainbow  Falls,  or  the  Cheyenne  Canyon  (the  Spanish 
for  ravine) ;  and  who  in  England  would  believe  in 
a  frozen  waterfall?  Yet  that  was  one  of  the  strange 
sights  witnessed  during  an  expedition  over  the  Ute 
Pass. 

It  will  be  equally  difficult,  I  expect,  for  friends  at 
home  to  imagine  a  picnic  in  winter,  with  snow-capped 
mountains  around,  frozen  streams  across  which  car 
riages  could  even  venture  in  safety,  and  yet  a  sun  so 
hot  that  overcoats  and  sealskins  were  dispensed  with 
as  a  merry  party  discussed  an  excellent  luncheon 
under  the  shade  of  the  pine-trees,  in  which  blue  jay 
birds  were  perched.  Such  was  the  al  fresco  repast  I 
enjoyed  on  the  I2th  of  January,  thanks  to  the  hospi 
tality  of  President  Tenney.  And  this  was  but  an 
episode  in  a  delightful  day's  excursion  far  away  in 
the  depths  of  the  Cheyenne  Canyon,  among  won 
drous  rocks  of  black,  gray,  and  bright  red  sandstone, 
often  vivid  with  patches  of  yellow  and  green  lichen. 
Sometimes  we  were  looking  at  waterfalls,  or  peering 
into  vast  fantastic  chasms,  and  at  other  moments 
gazing  at  the  perpendicular  rocks  towering  above  our 
heads.  Every  moment  was  "  a  picture  for  remem 
brance." 

I  must  candidly  confess  that  during  my  tour 
through  Colorado  "  a  change  came  o'er  the  spirit  of 
my  dream,"  and  Nature  obtained  a  hold  over  me  in 
those  Rocky  Mountains  she  had  never  had  before. 
My  early  years  were  spent  in  the  country,  but  I  soon 
learned  to  love  the  town.  I  became  a  thorough  Lon 
doner  at  heart.  Humanity  had  an  attraction  for  me 
that  nature  never  possessed ;  men  and  women,  with 
their  struggles,  hopes,  and  fears,  interested  me  far 


COLORADO    SCENERY.'  153 

more  than  the  finest  landscape  ;  with  them  I  ever 
felt  a  sympathy  and  companionship  that  land  and  sea 
could  not  inspire — in  fact,  the  lonely  mountain  and 
the  restless  wave  beating  without  result  on  the  un 
responsive  shore  used  often  to  fill  me  with  a  depres 
sion  I  could  not  endure.  But  Colorado  scenery,  com 
bined  with  such  a  glorious  climate,  at  last  "  enthused  " 
me,  as  our  Yankee  cousins  would  call  it.  The  very 
sense  of  living  was  an  absolute  delight  which  can  not 
be  realized  by  those  who  have  never  experienced  the 
buoyancy  of  this  electric  air.  I  had  often  before 
wondered  how  cultured  young  men,  with  the  results 
of  hundreds  of  years  of  civilization  within  their 
reach,  could  relinquish  them  for  the  privations  of 
primeval  life  in  the  wilds  of  Australia  and  America. 
Now  I  understood  something  of  the  compensation  of 
"  God's  free  air,"  even  on  a  cattle  ranche  far  away 
from  the  enjoyments  of  art  and  literature  ;  and  the 
feeling  deepened  during  my  trip  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  through  the  marvellous  Grand  Canyon  of 
the  Arkansas,  after  I  left  Colorado  Springs. 

I  started  by  an  early  morning  train  to  Pueblo,  and 
Branched  off  on  the  Leadville  line,  which  brought 
__ie  to  what  the  inhabitants  of  this  great  Republic 
have  well  named  the  Royal  Gorge.  Mr.  Ruskin's 
heart  would  indeed  have  ached  to  see  the  solemnity 
and  majesty  of  this  weird  ravine  desecrated  by  the 
noisy,  ugly,  puffing  locomotive  which  drew  our  train 
through  its  mystic  shades  by  the  side  of  the  river, 
under  the  giant  cliffs  3,000  feet  high,  that  seemed  to 
frown  on  its  intrusive  presence,  and  even  to  threaten 
its  puny  form  with  destruction  ! 

The  giant  of  the  nineteenth  century — the  ogre 
7* 


154  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

who,  while  he  brings  these  lovely  places  within 
ordinary  reach,  spoils  their  picturesqueness  and  de 
stroys  their  solitude — is  gradually  asserting  his  sway 
throughout  this  wild  district.  Slowly  but  surely  he 
is  even  winding  his  stealthy  way,  14,220  feet  above 
the  sea-level,  up  Pike's  Peak  itself.  How  Colorado 
will  hereafter  be  affected  by  this  railroad  I  really  can 
not  say ;  but  it  is  certain  there  are  few  Americans 
left  who  love  the  wild  forests  and  mountains  well 
enough  to  protest,  like  their  countryman  Thoreau, 
against  railways,  steamboats,  and  telegraphs.  The 
trail  of  this  restless,  nervous,  bustling,  mammon- 
worshipping  age  is  over  all ;  the  spirit  which  animates 
Wall  Street  asserts  itself  in  the  wild  canyons  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  many  a  dollar-loving  inhabi 
tant  of  Manitou  is  now  rejoicing  at  the  prospective 
11  increase  of  tourists."  People  who  have  hitherto 
refrained  from  making  this  grand  ascent  on  mules,  as 
involving  too  much  time  and  exertion,  are  expected 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  iron  horse,  which  in  a  few 
months  will  be  disturbing  the  serenity  of  the  eagles, 
hawks,  and  coyotes,  who  have  until  now  shared  with 
the  signal  station  the  possession  of  the  grandest  peak 
of  the  American  Alps. 

I  reached  Salida  at  six  o'clock  one  evening,  and 
have  great  reason  to  rejoice  that  my  bones  are  not 
reposing  there  at  this  minute.  In  the  ordinary  reck 
less  American  fashion,  our  train  came  to  a  standstill 
on  the  centre  lines,  facing  the  depot,  instead  of  draw 
ing  up  to  a  respectable  platform  on  which  passengers 
could  alight  with  ease  and  safety.  The  smallest 
country  railway  station  in  Great  Britain  is  furnished 
with  this  necessary  appendage  of  safe  travel,  but 


A    NARROW    ESCAPE.  155 

across  the  ocean,  platforms  are  luxuries  rarely  in 
dulged  in !  Accordingly  I  had  to  step  out  of  the 
Pullman  car  in  the  middle  of  the  track,  and  naturally 
at  once  proceeded  to  cross  the  lines  to  the  depot, 
never  noticing  in  the  deepening  shades  of  evening 
that  another  train  was  coming  up.  But  for  the  timely 
intervention  of  a  stranger,  who  kindly  but  very  un- 
.comfortably  seized  me  by  the  throat,  I  most  certainly 
should  have  been  run  over  by  the  locomotive,  if  not 
killed  on  the  spot,  for  the  engine  steamed  past  as  he 
held  me  firmly,  in  his  saving  but  surprising  grasp. 
Nothing  strikes  the  English  traveller  with  more  dis 
may  than  the  heedless  disregard  of  life  in  America. 
The  railway  tracks  are  unprotected ;  they  often  run 
through  the  busiest  streets,  killing  foot-passengers 
and  scaring  horses  with  equal  impartiality.  On  the 
prairies,  dead  cows  and  horses  on  the  track  are  of 
course  facts  of  daily  occurrence ;  indeed  all  the  loco 
motives  are  provided  with  "  cow-catchers."  Cer 
tainly,  in  places  "  where  men  most  do  congregate  "  a 
placard  greets  the  eye,  "  When  the  bell  rings,  look 
out  for  the  locomotive  ";  but  as  the  train  dashes  past 
your  carriage  as  you  wait  at  some  dry-goods  store, 
"  Deaths  on  the  Track  "  is  naturally  a  standing  head 
ing  for  a  daily  paragraph  in  American  newspapers. 

Salida  is  a  sheltered  village  into  which  no  snow 
ever  penetrates,  and  the  air  was  so  soft  and  balmy 
that  I  stayed  on  the  balcony  of  the  hotel  that  Janu 
ary  evening  watching  in  the  moonlight  the  famous 
Sangre  de  Criste  range  of  mountains.  After  resting 
till  four  o'clock,  I  started  without  any  breakfast,  or 
the  comforts  of  a  Pullman  car,  in  order  to  see  the  sun 
rise  over  the  celebrated  Marshall  Pass.  Never  shall 


156  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

I  forget  that  journey.  No  pen  or  pencil  can  ever  do 
justice  to  the  scenes  through  which  we  passed.  The 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway  is  indeed  a  very 
marvel  of  engineering  skill.  The  man  who  planned 
it  seems  to  have  lassoed  the  mountains  and  caught 
them  in  a  tangle  of  coils.  The  single  track  winds 
round  and  round  in  curves  so  sharp  that  from  our 
middle  compartment  we  could  see  the  engine  in  front 
of  us,  as  well  as  the  rear  carriage,  and  far  ahead  was 
our  pilot-engine,  looking  like  a  child's  toy  in  the 
midst  of  this  grand  landscape,  which  was  only  marred 
by  the  inevitable  snowsheds,  the  one  near  the  sum 
mit  being  just  four  miles  long.  No  human  being  in 
habits  this  wild  region  save  coyotes,  bears,  and  eagles, 
and  the  men  who  live  in  huts  along  the  track,  to  see 
that  it  is  cleared  of  the  falling  boulders  from  the 
rocks  above.  At  last  we  reached  an  elevation  of 
10,857  feet,  the  highest  railway  track  in  America,  and 
witnessed  a  glorious  sunrise.  Then  began  our  de 
scent  on  the  other  side,  five  hours  bringing  us  to  Gun- 
nison.  After  this  we  entered  the  Black  Canyon, 
where  the  rocks  are  -as  high  as  those  of  the  Royal 
Gorge,  and  the  chasm  wider.  Another  climb  by  a 
steep  grade — 213  feet  to  the  mile — and  we  were  at 
Cedar  Divide ;  before  me  lay  the  Uncompahgre  Val 
ley  and  the  Wahsatch  Mountains  beyond.  At  the 
Grande  Junction  a  veritable  desert  of  150  miles  of 
prairie  had  to  be  traversed ;  our  train  struck  on  a 
mining  camp  at  which  there  had  been  an  accident, 
and  stopped  to  take  four  injured  men  "  on  board,"  to 
procure  them  medical  help  at  the  nearest  town. 

The  sunset  that  evening  was  a  worthy  pendant  to 
the  sunrise  seen  at  the  Marshall  Pass :  the   last  glori- 


RIO    GRANDE    RAILROAD.  -    ,     157 

ous  rays  of  the  departing  sun  lighted  up  the  peaks 
and  snowy  summits  of  the  mountains  with  a  brill 
iancy  of  color  no  artist  would  dare,  even  were  it  pos 
sible,  to  represent  on  canvas ;  and  t  hen,  as  there  is 
no  twilight  here,  darkness  quickly  ensued,  the  Pull 
man  car  was  lighted  up,  the  porter  began  to  make 
the  beds,  and  before  ten  o'clock  every  one  was  com 
fortably  sleeping,  while  the  train  sped  on  through  the 
night,  and  landed  us  at  six  o'clock  the  following 
morning  at  Salt  Lake  City.  If  travellers  from  New 
York  to  San  Francisco  care  to  enjoy  some  of  the 
grandest  scenery  in  the  world,  they  will  abandon  the 
old  road  across  the  dull  prairies.  Branch  off  at  Den 
ver  by  this  new  route,  and  there  is  an  everchanging 
panorama  of  snow-crowned  mountains,  deep  gorges, 
forest-covered  slopes,  and  a  remembrance  for  a  life 
time.  Even  those  to  whom  the  Alps,  the  Andes, 
and  the  Himalayas  are  familiar,  will  appreciate  the 
glimpses  of  glory  to  be  obtained  as  they  stand  on  the 
brink  of  those  terrible  precipices  during  a  railroad 
journey  over  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Brig-ham  Young  and  the  "  true  inwardness  of  Mormonism  " — 
Inducements  to  converts  to  emigrate  to  the  "  promised  land  " 
— Polygamy  kept  out  of  sight — Zion's  poet-laureate,  Eliza 
Snow — Mrs.  Emmeline  Wells,  etc. — Mormon  women  and 
wives — The  effects  of  polygamy — Sermons  in  the  Tabernacle 
and  Sunday  evening  ward  meetings — Bfigham  Young  and 
others  on  the  "women's  discontent" — Exclusion  of  unmar 
ried  women  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven — Introduction  of 
second  wives — The  effect  of  any  lengthened  visit  to  Salt  Lake 
City — War  "between  Mormons  and  Gentiles — Endowment 
House,  with  its  religious  dramas,  baptisms,  and  sealings. 

WHEN  Brigham  Young  and  his  Mormon  followers 
were  driven  from  Nauvoo  in  1847,  ne  started  with  a 
band  of  pioneers  to  find  "  fresh  fields  and  pastures 
new,"  and  following  for  several  hundred  miles  a  trap 
per's  trail,  according  to  directions  received  from  scouts 
wisely  sent  in  advance,  he  reached  the  summit  of  the 
Wahsatch  Mountains,  and  there  before  him  lay  the 
beautiful  valley  which  extends  some  forty  miles  to 
the  Great  Salt  Lake.  No  wonder  that  the  keen  eye 
of  the  "  prophet  "  at  once  discerned  his  opportunities, 
and  that  he  resolved  to  build  up  his  "  Zion  "  on  this 
fertile  spot.  The  territory  really  belonged  to  Mexico, 
but  Brigham  Young  hoisted  the  United  States  flag, 
and  under  the  banner  of  religion  established  a  tem 
poral  power  which  his  followers  retain  to  the  present 
hour. 

Many  persons  expected  that  Mormonism  would 
collapse  when  Brigham  Young  died,  but  such  people 
(158) 


INDUCEMENTS    HELD    OUT.  ,      159 

little  understood  its  "  true  inwardness."  There  are 
few  systems  so  thoroughly  well  organized ;  the  Jesuits 
themselves  are  not  a  more  disciplined  body  than  the 
Latter-Day  Saints. 

In  the  opinion  of  those  best  fitted  to  form  an  un 
prejudiced  and  independent  judgment,  I  found  Mor- 
monism  regarded  as  "  a  carefully  organized  land  spec 
ulation  scheme."  The  land  "  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey "  is  what  the  agent  missionaries  have  ever 
promised  to  intending  converts,  and  everywhere  their 
spies  have  gone  forth  to  search  for  fertile  places  in 
the  West,  where  they  might  build  cities  and  plant 
vineyards.  One-thirteenth  part  of  Utah  can  be  irri 
gated,  and  the  best  positions  in  Idaho,  Arizona,  and 
Southwestern  Colorado  have  been  chosen  for  the 
same  reason.  Between  three  and  four  hundred  mis 
sionaries  are  constantly  employed  in  Europe,  and 
having  been  furnished  with  lists  of  the  people  who 
have  already  emigrated  to  various  parts  of  Utah,  they 
find  out  their  relatives  and  friends,  and  tell  them  how 
admirably  these  settlers  are  getting  on,  offering  them 
forty  acres  of  land,  if  they  like  to  join  them  in  these 
happy  valleys,  where  every  man  sits  under  the  shadow 
of  his  own  fig-tree,  and  owns  his  own  house  and 
land.  Of  course  to  avail  themselves  of  these  advan 
tages  they  must  embrace  the  Mormon  faith.  For  the 
most  part  the  doctrine  of  polygamy  is  carefully  sup 
pressed  till  the  promised  land  is  in  sight  and  retreat 
impossible.  These  ignorant  people,  drawn  from  Eng 
lish  hamlets,  the  rural  districts  of  Scotland,  Wales, 
Sweden,  and  Germany,  gratefully  accept  the  land 
as  the  generous  gift  of  the  Mormon  Church,  instead 
of  realizing  the  source  from  which  it  really  comes, 


l6o  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  United  States  Homestead  Law,  and  they  will 
ingly  agree  to  pay  the  yearly  tax  imposed  by  the 
Mormon  hierarchy — a  tax  which  produces  such  a 
splendid  annual  revenue  for  the  support  of  the  Church. 

I  endeavored  as  far  as  I  could  during  my  residence 
in  Salt  Lake  City  to  study,  without  prejudice,  the 
problem  this  extraordinary  community  presents  ;  and 
while  it  is  very  painful  to  me,  after  the  kindness  and 
courtesy  I  received  from  the  President  of  the  Mor 
mons  downwards,  to  write  any  words  which  must 
sound  harsh  and  condemnatory,  I  must  needs  speak 
without  fear  or  favor  from  my  own  "  point  of  view," 
even  if  the  judgment  formed  be  crude  and  erroneous. 
I  have  studied  the  literature  given  to  me  by  friends 
who  were  anxious  I  should  not  be  misled  by  the 
Gentiles  surrounding  me,  and  I  have  patiently  listened 
to  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  system  ;  but  the 
more  I  read  and  the  more  I  hear,  the  less  justification 
can  I  discover  for  a  religion  which  has  in  times  past 
countenanced  the  grossest  frauds,  cold-blooded  mur 
ders,  the  Mountain  Meadow  massacre,  and  to  the 
present  hour  sanctions  the  hateful  system  of  polyg 
amy,  which  strikes,  in  my  opinion,  the  deadliest 
blow  at  the  purity  of  family  life,  and  involves  the 
cruellest  subjection  and  the  most  hopeless  degrada 
tion  of  the  women  belonging  to  the  community. 

It  must  of  course  be  acknowledged  that  even  among 
the  Mormon  ladies  themselves  there  is  a  vast  amount 
of  conflicting  testimony  as  to  the  happiness  enjoyed, 
notwithstanding  the  very  much  married  condition  of 
their  lords  and  masters !  Eliza  Snow,  known  as 
"  Zion's  poet-laureate,"  and  "  high  priestess  " — the 
first  plural  wife  of  Joseph  Smith,  after  he  received 


ZION'S    POET-LAUREATE.  l6l 

the  astounding  revelation,  and  subsequently  one  of 
Brigham  Young's  wives — assured  me  with  apparent 
sincerity  of  her  perfect  faith  and  entire  satisfaction  in 
the  teachings  and  practices  of  Mormonism.  I  was 
invited  to  the  entertainment  which  celebrated  her 
eightieth  birthday,  on  the  2 1st  of  January  (1884), 
when  "  her  dauntless  and  undying  heroism  "  were  ex 
tolled  in  poems  and  addresses,  and  tributes  of  respect, 
in  the  shape  of  gifts  and  flowers,  were  showered  on  this 
"veteran  mother  in  Israel," — a  name  she  appears  to 
bear,  though  no  children  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed. 
She  believes  in  plural  marriage  as  sacredly  as  she 
does  in  any  other  institution  God  has  revealed  ;  she 
regards  it  as  "  necessary  for  the  redemption  of  the 
human  family  from  the  low  state  of  corruption  into 
which  it  has  sunk,"  and  maintains  that  it  tends  to 
promote  "  virtue,  purity  and  holiness."  In  conjunc 
tion  with  Mrs.  Emmeline  B.  Wells,  Mrs.  King,  and 
others,  with  whom,  in  spite  of  the  gulf  between  us 
on  these  vital  points,  I  had  much  pleasant  social  in 
tercourse,  she  esteems  it  her  highest  privilege  to 
"  labor  "  with  rebellious  wives  who  are  wicked  enough 
to  object  to  plural  marriages  ;  and  many  a  young  girl 
has  been  induced  against  her  better  feelings  to  enter 
into  polygamy  on  the  representations  and  persuasions 
of  these  energetic  fanatics.  Continually  Mrs.  Hannah 
T.  King,  an  English  lady,  said  to  me,  "  The  laws  of 
this  Church  coincide  with  the  laws  of  my  nature; 
I  have  three  beautiful  daughters  living  in  polygamy. 
They  were  educated  in  all  the  refinements  of  the 
world,  but  gladly  left  their  home  and  its  early  attrac 
tions  to  obey  God.  I  have  been  in  the  Church  now 
for  thirty  years,  and  would  not  return  to  my  former 


1 62  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

state  for  Queen  Victoria's  crown  and  all  its  append 
ages." 

Most  indignantly  do  these  ladies  repudiate  the  as 
sertion  that  Mormon  women  are  slaves  to  the  pas 
sions  and  caprices  of  men,  "downtrodden  victims" 
of  a  profligate  conspiracy,  and  they  freely  express 
their  sympathy  for  Gentile  women  who  are  subjected 
to  u  infidelities  no  Mormon  wife  ever  experiences  "  ! 
They  are  proud  of  principles  it  seems  my  plain  duty 
to  assail,  and  boldly  assert  "  there  is  no  place  on  earth 
where  woman's  virtue  is  more  protected  than  in  Salt 
Lake  City."  They  would  have  it  believed  that  they 
represent  the  opinions  of  Mormon  women  generally, 
and  wives  in  particular,  when  they  say  that  the  women 
of  their  community  enjoy  more  "  rights  "  than  are  ac 
corded  to  the  sex  elsewhere ;  they  assure  you  that 
they  are  "  thoroughly  contented,  and  filled  with 
righteous  indignation  "  towards  those  who  would  fain 
put  an  end  to  the  plural  marriages  of  the  saints.  They 
read  with  "  disgust  "  the  wicked  misrepresentations 
of  Gentile  travellers  describing  them  as  "  poor-spirited 
and  depressed,"  and  are  ready  to  resent  "  impertinent 
efforts  "  to  deliver  them  from  "  a  tyranny  "  which,  in 
their  opinion,  does  not  exist,  and  retort  that  "  the 
carnal  Gentile  mind  "  can  not  comprehend  either  the 
will  of  God,  or  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  patri 
archal  order  of  marriage. 

On  the  other  hand,  though  Mormon  women  are 
watched  with  a  scrutiny  they  find  it  difficult  to  evade, 
and  seem  to  fear  that  the  very  walls  have  ears  to  hear 
and  tongues  to  betray  them,  it  was  confided  to  me 
by  more  than  one  plural  wife  that  "  the  accursed  doc 
trine  of  polygamy  "  had  poisoned  her  happiness  and 


RESIGNATION    TAUGHT.  1 63 

blighted  her  life.  Many  a  poor  soul  has  bravely  tried 
to  bear  with  silent  submission  the  dreaded  affliction 
of  a  second  wife,  pacing  her  lonely  chamber  all  night, 
struggling  with  keen  anguish,  naturally  mixed  with 
bitter  indignation,  as  she  realized  that  she  had  lost 
the  u  rights  "  most  sacred  to  a  true  woman,  the  un 
divided  possession  of  her  husband's  love.  Although 
trained  to  regard  "  the  sacrifice  "  as  a  religious  duty, 
and  a  "  means  of  exalting  the  husband  in  the  king 
dom  of  heaven,"  many  a  victim  has  asked  with  break 
ing  heart  how  a  merciful  God  could  ever  have  im 
planted  such  feelings  in  her  nature  only  to  torture 
her,  and  to  require  her  to  crush  them  at  the  bidding 
of  the  man  to  whom  she  has  freely  yielded  all  the 
fresh  affections  of  her  youth. 

No  one  with  any  insight  into  human  nature  can  for 
one  moment  suppose  that  women  are  happy  under 
this  yoke.  No  loving  wife  can  see  her  husband's  af 
fections  straying  to  another  woman  with  placid  sub 
mission.  Some  are  perhaps  indifferent  when  they 
have  outlived  their  love,  but  far  more  pass  their  lives 
in  strife  and  jealousy — evil  passions  which  destroy  all 
the  good  in  them.  I  was  told  of  a  wife  who  had 
sought  Eliza  Snow's  counsel  in  the  supreme  hour  of 
her  anguish,  when  her  dearly  loved  husband  was  about 
to  take  unto  himself  a  second  wife,  a  prettier  and  more 
attractive  girl  than  herself.  "  I  can  not  live,"  she 
cried  in  her  despair,  "  and  see  her  with  him." 

"  Pray  for  resignation,"  said  the  poetess. 

"  I  do,  but  I  shall  die  if  he  brings  her  home,"  was 
still  the  despairing  response. 

The  woman  must  indeed  have  been  lost  in  the 
"  priestess  "  before  Eliza  Snow's  lips  could  have  framed 


164  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  cruel  answer,  "  Die,  then  ;  there  are  hundreds  of 
women  up  in  that  burying-ground  who  have  gone 
there  because  they  could  not  be  resigned  to  the  will 
and  order  of  God." 

Sometimes  the  husband  "  breaks  the  news  gently." 
He  says  the  authorities  have  urged  him  to  take  ano 
ther  wife,  "  and  explained  to  him  how  great  his  loss 
will  be  in  the  celestial  world  if  he  does  not  live  up  to 
his  privileges  here."  I  knew  a  wife  who  reminded  her 
husband  that  on  her  marriage  with  him  he  solemnly 
swore  that  she  should  be  "  his  sole  and  only  wife  "; 
but  he  unblushingly  replied  that  "  a  promise  wrong 
in  itself  could  not  be  kept  ";  revelation  not  only  justi 
fied,  but  compelled  the  breaking  of  it ;  that  he  had 
now  awakened  to  a  sense  of  his  religious  duties,  and 
dared  no  longer  neglect  them.  Many  have  boldly  as 
serted  that  they  take  additional  wives  "  against  their 
own  wishes,"  only  "  to  increase  their  kingdom,"  and 
to  hold  "a  more  exalted  position  in  the  Church  and 
the  world  to  come."  But  no  one  who  has  studied  the 
matter  can  believe  for  a  moment  that  polygamy  is 
"  the  trial "  to  a  husband's  "  faith  "  some  Mormons 
would  have  their  first  wife  suppose  it !  She,  at  least, 
is  not  slow  to  notice  his  altered  manner  toward  her 
self  ;  his  ill-concealed  anxiety  to  be  with  the  new 
object  of  his  affections  as  much  as  other  duties  allow ; 
his  readiness  to  attend  the  meetings  at  which  the 
young  lady  is  likely  to  be  present ;  his  sacrificing  ef 
forts  to  make  himself  "  look  as  attractive  as  possible  " 
in  the  eyes  of  his  latest  love,  and  his  laudable  desire 
thus  to  carry  out  the  command  of  God. 

"  When  I  suddenly  met  my  husband  one  evening, 
walking  with  his  intended  bride,  looking  tenderly  into 


PLURAL    MARRIAGE.  165 

her  eyes,  with  the  expression  I  had  once  known  so 
well,  and  with  all  the  proud  consciousness  of  a  tri 
umphant  lover,  my  very  heart  turned  to  stone.  At 
first  I  longed  for  vengeance  on  the  father  of  my  chil 
dren  ;  I  felt  degraded  and  humiliated  at  the  recollection 
of  the  loving  devotion  I  had  given  him  for  years,"  was 
the  confession  of  one  lady,  who  told  me  the  story 
of  her  life  while  the  tears  rolled  down  her  face, 
though  years  had  passed  since  the  fatal  day,  when 
"  endurance  "  had  taken  the  place  of  love,  and  she  had 
realized  in  her  own  home,  through  the  husband  she 
had  once  so  fondly  worshipped,  the  bitter  sacrifices 
polygamy  demanded  from  its  victims. 

The  only  way  in  which  any  submission  whatever 
to  this  detestable  system  was  obtained  was  simply 
through  the  doctrine  "  that  the  husband  is  empowered 
to  teach  the  wife  the  law  and  will  of  God,"  and  that 
she  is  bound  to  believe  what  he  teaches  :  "  She  shall 
believe,  or  she  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the  Lord 
God,"  according  to  that  arch-impostor,  "  Joseph  Smith 
the  Seer." 

There  is  ample  proof  that  women  have  hated  polyg 
amy  from  the  days  when  the  evil  thing  was  instituted 
by  Joseph  Smith  to  the  present  time,  though  few  dare 
own  it,  for  obvious  reasons.  Nothing  was  more  con 
vincing  to  my  own  mind  than  the  allusions  I  saw  to 
"  discontented  women  "  in  sermons  published  in  the 
Mormon  newswaper,  the  Desert  News,  in  times  when 
a  far  greater  freedom  of  speech  was  used  in  the 
Tabernacle  at  the  Bishop's  Sunday  evening  ward 
meetings,  and  far  less  discretion  shown  in  the  publica 
tion  of  Mormon  extempore  utterances. 

In  one  sermon,  for  example,  these  remarkable  words 


1 66  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

occur:  "  We  have  women  here  who  like  anything  but 
the  celestial  law  of  God,  and,  if  they  could,  would 
break  asunder  the  cable  of  the  Church  of  Christ ;  there 
is  scarcely  a  mother  in  Israel  but  would  do  it  tliis  day. 
And  they  talk  it  to  their  husbands,  to  their  daughters, 
and  to  their  neighbors,  and  say  that  they  have  not 
seen  a  week's  happiness  since  they  became  acquainted 
with  that  law,  or  since  their  husbands  took  a  second 
wife."  For  it  must  be  remembered  that  many  had 
embraced  the  Mormon  faith  years  before  "  plural  mar 
riage  "  had  been  dreamt  of.  At  first  it  was  only  hinted 
at,  under  men's  breath,  then  stigmatized  as  a  calumny. 
The  gift  of  tongues,  the  power  of  effecting  cures  by 
the  laying  on  of  hands,  had  long  been  the  boast  of  the 
Latter-Day  Saints.  The  doctrine  of  polygamy,  how 
ever,  was  not  only  at  first  denounced  by  the  elders 
and  bishops,  but  even  the  President  himself,  then 
Apostle  John  Taylor,  denied  that  "  the  Mormons  were 
growing  unsound  on  the  marriage  question."  In  a 
public  discussion  in  France,  he  declared  that  they  were 
accused  by  their  enemies  "  of  actions  the  most  de 
praved,  which  none  but  a  corrupt  heart  could  have 
conceived.  These  things  are  too  outrageous  to  admit 
of  belief."  Nevertheless,  a  short  time  after  these 
words  were  uttered,  all  prevarications  were  silenced 
by  the  bold  publication  of  the  revelation  which  was 
said  to  have  been  made  to  Joseph  Smith  some  ten 
years  previously,  and  actually  carried  into  practice  by 
saints  who  had  had  "  from  the  beginning  faith  enough 
to  live  up  to  God's  command." 

No  wonder  the  women  rebelled  against  the  recogni 
tion  of  a  system  which  could  not  but  fill  their  minds 
with  evil  forebodings,  and  might  altogether  destroy 
their  dearly  prized  home  happiness. 


BRIGHAM    YOUNG'S    PROPOSITION.  167 

President  Brigham  Young  evidently  had  a  hard  time 
of  it  when  his  repulsive  doctrine  was  first  enforced. 
He  had  to  demand  submission  in  extremely  plain 
terms  before  he  smothered  what  he  described  as  the 
"  everlasting  whinings  of  many  of  the  women  of  this 
territory."  He  said  : 

"  Now  for  my  proposition :  it  is  more  particularly  for  my  sis 
ters,  as  it  is  frequently  happening  that  women  say  that  they  are 
unhappy.  Men  will  say,  '  My  wife,  though  a  most  excellent  wo 
man,  has  not  seen  a  happy  day  since  I  took  my  second  wife  '; 
'  No,  not  a  happy  day  for  a  year.'  It  is  said  that  women  are  lied 
down  and  abused  ;  that  they  are  misused,  and  have  not  the  liberty 
they  ought  to  have  ;  that  many  of  them  are  wading  through  a  per 
fect  flood  of  tears,  because  of  the  conduct  of  some  men,  together 
with  their  own  folly. 

"  1  wish  my  women  to  understand  that  what  I  am  going  to  say 
is  for  them,  as  well  as  all  others,  and  I  want  those  who  are  here 
to  tell  their  sisters,  yes,  all  the  women  of  this  community,  and 
then  write  it  back  to  the  States,  and  do  as  you  please  with  it.  I 
am  going  to  give  you  from  this  time  to  the  6th  day  of  October 
next  for  reflection,  that  you  may  determine  whether  you  wish  to 
stay  with  >our  husbands  or  not,  and  then  I  am  going  to  set  every 
woman  at  liberty,  and  say  to  them,  '  Now,  go  your  way,  my  wo 
man,  with  the  rest,  go  your  way.'  And  my  wives  have  got  to  do 
one  of  the  two  things  :  either  round  up  their  shoulders  to  endure 
the  afflictions  of  this  world  and  live  their  religion,  or  they  may 
leave,  for  I  will  not  have  them  about  me.  I  will  go  into  heaven 
alone,  rather  than  have  scratching  and  fighting  around  me.  I 
will  set  all  at  liberty.  '  What,  first  wife,  too  ?'  Yes,  I  will  liberate 
you  all. 

"  I  know  what  my  women  will  say :  they  will  say,  '  You  can 
have  as  m-any  women  as  you  please,  Brigham.'  But  I  want  to  go 
somewhere  and  do  something  to  get  rid  of  the  whiners  ;  I  do  not 
want  them  to  receive  a  part  of  the  truth,  and  spurn  the  rest  out 
of  doors." 

I  am  glad  the  ruthless  tyrant  had  at  least  the  grace 


1 68  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

to  speak  of  the  poor  women  as  enduring  "  the  afflic 
tions  of  this  world."  Bishop  Heber  C.  Kimbal,  in 
many  discourses  too  coarse  for  quotation,  also  afforded 
complete  evidence  that  neither  specious  promises 
that  those  who  accepted  plural  marriage  should  be 
"  queens  in  heaven  and  rulers  throughout  eternity," 
nor  threats  of  the  "  free  inheritance  of  hell "  for  all 
who  refused  submission,  could  at  first  induce  the 
women  allured  into  the  community  placidly  to  ac 
cept  a  practice  so  revolting  to  nineteenth  century 
civilization.  How  could  the  victims  of  the  system  go 
forth  into  the  wilderness  with  their  children  ?  They 
naturally  succumbed  to  Brigham  Young,  who  was 
one  of  the  greatest  despots  that  ever  lived  ;  and  even 
under  the  gentler  sway  of  the  present  day,  you  can 
see  by  the  depressed  faces  of  the  wives  the  martyr 
dom  they  are  passing  through.  How  best  to  free 
them  is  another  matter.  Here  and  there  a  woman 
has  had  sufficient  courage  to  take  her  life  in  her  own 
hands,  and  go  forth  with  her  children  from  the  home 
to  which  another  wife  has  been  brought ;  but  these 
women  are  exceptionally  brave,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  describe  the  sufferings  and  privations  they  have 
encountered.  Consequently,  they  have  served  as 
warnings  to  deter,  rather  than  as  beacons  to  encour 
age,  feebler  sisters  to  escape  from  outrages  inflicted 
in  the  name  of  religion. 

A  plural  wife  is  also  kept  in  check  by  being  told 
that  while  in  the  Church  she  is  an  "  honorable  wife," 
but  as  an  "  apostate  "  loses  her  position  both  with 
"  saints  "  and  outsiders  ;  her  children  will  be  stigma 
tized  as  illegitimate,  and  she  herself  subjected  to 
slander  and  personal  abuse. 


MORMON    WOMEN    AND    GIRLS.  ,     169 

The  Mormons  declare  that  they  never  take  another 
wife  without  the  "  consent "  of  the  first.  It  is  true 
that  the  first  wife  is  forced,  by  a  barbarous  rite,  to 
place  her  rival's  hand  in  that  of  her  husband  during 
the  sealing  ceremony  in  the  Endowment  House ;  but 
this  mockery  is  endured  because  the  wife  dare  not 
refuse.  Many  wives  try  to  believe  that,  in  thus  "  kiss 
ing  the  Lord's  rod,"  they  are  fulfilling  the  will  of 
God,  and  offering  up  a  sacrifice  for  which  they  will 
be  rewarded  in  the  world  to  come.  Others  regard 
this  as  an  "  act  of  perjury,"  from  which  there  is  no 
escape.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  heartrending  story 
told  me  by  one  lady,  who  had  been  compelled,  after 
many  happy  years  of  marriage,  to  go  through  this 
revolting  ceremony  shortly  before  she  was  once  again 
to  become  a  mother. 

It  seems  strange  that  women  can  act  so  basely 
toward  each  other.  It  has  indeed  to  be  admitted 
that,  among  the  members  of  all  religious  sects  in 
every  part  of  the  world,  women  are  to  be  found  who 
are  mean  enough  to  supplant  others  secretly ;  they 
lure  away  the  heart  which  is  bound  in  honor  else 
where,  but  they  have  at  least  the  grace  to  be  ashamed 
of  their  villainy,  and  have  not  the  cruelty,  save  in 
the  most  abandoned  cases,  to  parade  their  triumph  in 
the  face  of  the  forsaken  wife.  It  must,  however,  be 
remembered  that  misguided  Mormon  girls  have  been 
taught  from  childhood  that  they  can  not  "  rise  again  at 
the  last  day"  unless  they  have  been  "  sealed  "  in  this 
world ;  that  without  a  husband  no  woman  can  enter 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  ! 

Girls,  too,  are  told  tKat  polygamy  is  practiced 
everywhere,  in  one  form  or  another,  and  that  the  open 


I7O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

plurality  of  the  Mormon  husband  is  the  only  pure 
and  holy  system.  According  to  the  saints,  "  sin  or 
polygamy  "  must  exist.  They  are  informed  that 
polygamy  tends  to  promote  their  own  physical  well- 
being,  enabling  them  to  escape  many  complaints 
which  embitter  the  lives  and  destroy  the  domestic  hap 
piness  of  other  women,  and  that  it  also  secures  the 
sound  health  of  their  offspring. 

Consequently,  a  Salt  Lake  City  belle  speculates  as 
openly  about  her  chance  of  becoming  the  favorite 
wife  of  the  man  who  has  attracted  her,  as  an  English 
maiden  contemplates  her  opportunities  for  securing 
the  beau  of  the  neighborhood.  Taught  from  her 
cradle  to  regard  polygamy  as  right,  she  often  prefers 
to  be  the  second,  third,  or  even  fourth  wife,  on  the 
ground  that  she  will  be  "more  petted  and  loved,"  and 
less  liable  to  be  supplanted  in  her  turn.  She  seems 
dead  to  the  feeling  that  she  is  acting  "  basely "  by 
assuming  such  a  relationship  with  another  woman's 
husband.  She  would  resent  the  imputation  "with 
righteous  indignation."  She  regards  her  conduct  as 
natural  and  becoming,  and  in  proper  conformity  with 
God's  will ;  for  has  she  not  been  taught  that  the  great 
object  of  her  existence  is  to  be  ready  to  "  build  up 
Zion,"  and  "  to  become  a  mother  in  Israel  "  ? 

No  one  who  has  simply  visited  Salt  Lake  City 
as  a  passing  tourist  can  imagine  the  peculiarity  of  the 
life  there.  The  external  features  of  the  place  alone 
affect  him.  The  great  lake,  so  salt  that  the  bather  is 
compelled  to  have  recourse  immediately  to  a  tub  of 
fresh  water,  and  so  buoyant  that  nobody  has  been 
known  to  sink  in  it;  the  barren  but  majestic  moun 
tains  which  surround  the  town  ;  the  shady  sidewalks  ; 


LIFE    IN    SALT    LAKE    CITY. 

the  mammoth  store,  familiarly  known  as  "Zion's 
Co-op./'  with  its  motto,  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord,"  and 
a  representation  of  the  All-seeing  Eye  of  God  as  its 
sign  ;  the  red  stone  City  Hall,  and  the  well-built,  sub 
stantial  theatres.  He  sees  the  Guardo  House,  for 
merly  known  as  the  "Amelia  Palace,"  after  the 
favorite  wife  of  Brigham  Young,  for  whom  it  was 
built ;  the  Eagle  Gate  is  pointed  out,  also  the  Lion 
House  and  the  Beehive — the  first  with  a  crouching 
lion  over  the  front  entrance,  the  second  with  a  carved 
beehive,  Utah's  insignia, — and  finally,  the  crowning 
wonder  of  all,  the  Temple  block,  the  Sacred  Square 
of  the  Latter-Day  Saints,  which  covers  ten  acres,  and 
contains  the  magnificent  Temple  now  in  course  of 
erection,  the  Assembly  Hall,  the  mysterious  Endow 
ment  House,  into  which  no  Gentile  is  allowed  to 
enter,  and  the  famous  Tabernacle,  with  its  far-famed 
organ.  If  he  stays  over  Sunday,  he  perhaps  attends 
a  service  there.  He  is  probably  taken  down  Brigham 
Street,  and  is  informed  that  the  endless  residences  he 
sees  belong  to  Brigham  Young's  widows  and  children, 
and  two  houses  in  particular  are  pointed  out  as  be 
longing  t,o  two  of  his  daughters  and  their  numerous 
families,  both  sisters  being  married  to  the  same  man. 
But  here  his  experience  generally  ends. 

Unless  the  traveller  remains  long  enough  to  become 
personally  acquainted  with  the  residents  of  this  place, 
he  will  certainly  miss  the  strange  sensation  I  expe 
rienced  when  I  realized  that  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life  I  was  in  a  city  of  two  peoples — Mormons  and  Gen 
tiles — who  no  more  mingle  than  oil  and  water,  but 
hate  one  another  with  that  worst  of  all  hatreds,  the 
rancor  founded  on  religious  differences.  "  A  rascally, 


172  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

lying,  double-dealing  sect,"  is  the  Gentile  definition 
of  the  Latter-Day  Saints,  who  in  their  turn  are  stig 
matized  for  having  introduced  "  drinking-saloons  and 
every  kind  of  iniquity "  into  the  midst  of  a  God 
fearing,  sober,  frugal,  hard-working  people.  In  the 
Tabernacle  and  Mormon  newspapers  are  exhortations 
"  to  live  holy  lives  in  spite  of  persecution,  to  build 
up  the  kingdom  ";  while  the  Gentile  press  and  pul 
pits  call  for  "  fire  and  sword  "  to  destroy  "  a  whole 
sale  animalism  unknown  since  the  days  of  Mahomet." 

The  sermons  in  the  Sunday  evening  ward  meetings 
of  the  Mormons  chiefly  consisted  in  advice  as  to  the 
Raising  of  cattle,  the  destruction  of  vermin,  the  clean 
ing  of  water-ditches,  and  other  worldly  concerns ; 
and  indeed  some  of  the  sermons  in  earlier  times  were 
couched  in  language  so  coarse  and  revolting,  that 
ladies  have  told  me  they  hardly  knew  how  to  endure 
it.  Rabelais  himself  could  not  have  surpassed  it ! 

I  learned  from  both  Gentile  and  Mormon  sources 
the  secrets  of  the  Endowment  House,  through  which 
it  is  considered  the  sacred  duty  of  a  good  Mormon  to 
pass,  but  respecting  which,  under  the  penalty  of  death, 
every  Mormon  mouth  is  ordered  to  be  closed.  In 
the  Endowment  House  are  administered  the  three 
oaths  by  which  allegiance  is  sworn  to  Mormon  laws 
in  preference  to  those  of  the  United  States — oaths 
binding  them  to  stand  by  each  other,  and  to  keep 
Gentile  influence,  as  far  as  possible,  out  of  the  terri 
tory.  Here  also  take  place  the  baptisms,  the  plural 
marriages,  and  the  Garden  of  Eden  dramas.  The 
first  ceremony  includes  wholesale  immersion.  The 
male  and  female  candidates  are  bidden  to  take  off 
their  shoes  in  an  anteroom,  before  they  pass  into  the 


ENDOWMENT    HOUSE.  173 

room  divided  by  a  heavy  curtain  which  separates  the 
men  from  the  women.  Here  each  person  is  undressed, 
and  washed  from  head  to  foot  by  the  officiating  priest 
on  one  side  of  the  division,  and  a  priestess  on  the 
women's  side  of  the  curtain.  After  this  they  are 
anointed  with  green  olive  oil,  while  unpleasantly 
appropriate  prayers  are  said  over  every  part  of  the 
body.  The  new  celestial  name  is  whispered  into  the 
ear  of  each.  This  is  never  to  be  spoken,  only  thought 
of,  "  to  keep  away  evil  spirits,"  until  it  is  confided  to 
the  husband.  Then  a  combination  garment  is  put 
on  :  this  is  never  to  be  wholly  removed.  It  is  sup 
posed  to  keep  the  wearer  from  sickness,  and  even 
death.  When  a  clean  one  is  required,  the  saints  are 
to  slip  out  one  limb  at  a  time,  but  never  to  be  en 
tirely  without  it.  I  may  mention  that  the  baptismal 
or  religious  name  invariably  given  to  the  woman  is 
"  Sarah,"  very  much  to  the  disappointment  of  many 
of  the  more  romantic  girls.  Indeed,  this  poverty  of 
invention  seems  to  have  caused  general  dissatisfac 
tion  to  the  ladies  of  Utah.  When  the  women  have 
been  arrayed  in  white  dresses,  and  the  men  have 
donned  white  shirts,  the  curtain  is  withdrawn,  and 
they  face  each  other  to  their  mutual  confusion  !  A 
brief  discourse  follows,  and  the  play  begins  when 
they  have  been  ushered  into  a  room  painted  over 
with  various  masonic  signs.  Voices  are  heard  out 
side  ;  Jehovah  is  supposed  to  be  telling  Elohim  to 
order  Michael  to  collect  the  elements  together,  and 
to  make  the  earth.  When  it  is  pronounced  good, 
man  is  made  from  a  handful  of  dust ;  and  while  all 
the  candidates  shut  their  eyes,  one  of  the  men  is 
taken  and  placed  as  Adam  in  the  garden  of  Eden, 


174  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

and  ordered  to  fall  into  a  deep  sleep.  This  he  is 
obliging  enough  to  do,  and  one  of  the  ladies  is  select 
ed  in  the  same  way  to  represent  Eve.  In  a  corner  of 
the  room  an  apple-tree  has  been  rudely  painted,  and 
Adam  and  Eve  are  invited  to  eat  of  any  tree  but 
that.  Before  long,  however,  a  little  old  gentleman  in 
black  tights,  with  an  apron,  appears  on  the  scene  to 
play  the  important  part  of  the  devil.  The  present 
actor  of  this  role  is  known  as  "  Brother  Thomas." 
He  assisted  at  the  administration  of  the  Sacrament 
the  first  Sunday  I  was  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

After  the  temptation  and  the  fall,  aprons  are  pro 
duced  for  the  entire  company,  composed  of  green 
silk,  on  which  nine  fig-leaves  have  been  worked  in 
brown.  Then  a  voice  calls  for  Adam,  who  tries  to 
hide  himself ;  and  so  on  throughout  this  absurd  and 
irreverent  travesty.  This  ends  the  first  degree. 

Certain  passwords  and  signals,  known  as  grips,  are 
taught  at  every  stage  of  these  performances.  The 
men  are  adorned  with  caps  like  those  worn  by  pastry 
cooks,  and  the  women  are  put  into  caps  with  veils. 
Good  Mormons  are  buried  in  their  Endowment  robes, 
and  the  veil  worn  by  the  women  covers  their  faces  in 
the  coffin.  This  veil  must  be  lifted  by  their  husbands 
on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection,  and  thus  alone 
can  a  woman  see  God.  Without  a  husband  to  per 
form  this  office,  no  woman  can  be  "  resurrected." 

The  candidates  have  now  passed  into  a  room  called 
the  world,  where  temptations  assail  them.  All  kinds 
of  men  are  introduced  into  this  scene  representing 
different  creeds,  which  are  coarsely  satirized.  Peter, 
James,  and  John  take  part  in  this  act,  and  the  devil 
is  also  busily  employed  in  telling  every  one  "  to  take 


MORMON    OATHS.  175 

their  own  pleasure,  and  never  mind  about  religion  at 
all."  At  last  Peter  ejects  him  summarily  from  the 
room.  All  this  time  the  people  are  supposed  to  be 
looking  for  "  a  plan  of  salvation."  At  last  a  man 
appears,  and  declares  that  after  1800  years  a  gospel 
had  been  revealed  by  an  angel  to  a  young  boy  named 
Joseph  Smith,  together  with  all  the  gifts,  blessings, 
and  prophecies  of  olden  times.  This  last  revelation 
to  the  world  is  called  "  The  Latter-Day  dispensation." 
The  priests  receive  it  with  joy,  as  the  things  they 
have  been  searching  for.  Then  other  "grips"  are 
given,  and  the  next  degree  is  completed. 

Very  terrible  are  the  oaths,  with  their  attendant 
penalties,  which  are  taken  while  "  passing  through 
the  Endowment  House."  Every  one  has  to  swear 
to  avenge  the  death  of  Joseph  Smith,  and  never  to 
reveal  what  happens  to  them  during  these  ceremonies. 
Absolute  obedience  to  the  priesthood  is  enjoined,  also 
chaste  lives,  which,  in  the  case  of  the  men,  is  explained 
as  "  never  taking  wives  save  by  permission."  The 
penalty  for  breaking  these  oaths  is  to  have  the  tongue 
and  heart  cut  out  while  the  victim  lives,  and  in  "  the 
world  to  come,  everlasting  damnation."  The  first 
part  of  the  penalty  is  said  to  have  been  enforced 
many  times  by  Brigham  Young;  the  second,  fortu 
nately,  was  not  within  the  tyrant's  command,  except 
in  the  imagination  of  his  victims. 

The  marriage  candidates  then  proceed  to  the  seal- 
ing-room.  Once  the  names  were  written  in  a  book, 
and  the  ceremony  performed  in  the  presence  of 
witnesses.  Both  these  forms  are,  however,  now  dis 
pensed  with,  and  no  certificate  is  given.  Polygamous 
marriages  may  possibly  prove  troublesome,  so  no 


176  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

record  of  them  is  kept.  I  know  of  a  case  in  which 
the  officiating  priest  denied  in  a  court  of  law  all 
knowledge  of  a  certain  marriage  ;  and,  under  compul 
sion,  the  wife,  with  the  baby  in  her  arms,  swore  that 
she  did  not  know  who  was  its  father,  in  order  that  the 
too  much  married  husband  might  evade  the  punish 
ment  which  the  United  States  Government  sometimes 
vainly  tries  to  inflict  for  this  defiance  of  its  law. 

Kneeling  at  a  little  wooden  altar  together,  the 
couple  to  be  "  sealed  "  are  married  by  the  priest,  after 
declaring  their  willingness  to  take  each  other,  and  the 
man  is  told  to  look  to  God,  and  the  woman  to  look 
to  her  husband  as  her  God,  and  to  yield  to  him 
unquestioning  obedience. 

The  marriages  are  for  time  and  eternity,  or  for  time 
only,  as  may  be  agreed  upon.  Rich  elderly  ladies  are 
married  by  men  who  sometimes  undertake  to  look 
after  their  property  on  earth,  and  become  their  real 
husbands  in  heaven.  One  kind  of  spiritual  wife — 
what  grim  satire  lies  in  the  very  choice  of  that  word  ! 
— is  a  lady  already  married  to  one  who  does  not  suf 
ficiently  "  exalt "  her,  so  she  is  secretly  sealed  to 
a  holier  brother.  In  the  resurrection  she  will  be 
the  wife  of  the  latter  altogether,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  earthly  husband.  Women  are  often  sealed 
to  a  distinguished  man  or  departed  saint.  Some 
have  been  patriotically  sealed  to  George  Washing 
ton,  whose  chances  of  heaven  were  considered  but 
slight  with  only  one  wife.  The  proxies  who  act  in 
these  ceremonies  are  generally  elders  and  bishops, 
who  pass  over  the  earthly  children  of  the  union  to 
the  heavenly  husband  in  the  next  world.  A  Boston 
lady,  with  whose  daughter  I  am  well  acquainted, 


THE .  TABERNACLE.  I  77 

deserted  her  husband  and  children  to  follow  Brigham 
Young,  by  whom  she  was  sealed  to  Joseph  Smith,  he 
acting  proxy.  On  earth  she  has  borne  Brigham's 
name,  and  lives  now  cm  the  means  he  left  her,  but  in 
the  resurrection  she  will  be  passed  on  to  Mr.  Joseph 
Smith. 

Certainly  America  has  been  the  scene  of  strange 
matrimonial  experiments.  What  with  the  Mormons, 
the  Free  Love  Institutions,  the  Shakers,  and  the 
Oneida  community,  she  may  indeed  be  said  to  have 
carried  off  the  palm  in  this  direction  ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  she  is  equally  unrivalled  in  the  freedom  of 
her  divorce  laws,  which  occasionally  produce  unpre 
cedented  complications.  "  For  instance,"  writes  Mrs. 
Devereux  Blake,  "  a  man  who  has  been  married, 
divorced,  and  re-married,  will,  in  travelling,  find  him 
self  sometimes  a  bachelor,  sometimes  married  to  his 
first  wife,  sometimes  to  his  second.  Sometimes  he  is 
a  divorced  man,  and  sometimes  a  bigamist,  according 
to  the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  he  is  travelling." 
In  short,  the  divorce  law,  as  it  stands  at  present,  gives 
a  coloring  to  the  Mormon's  statement  that  it  differs 
from  polygamy  only  in  name. 

I  was  greatly  disappointed  in  the  architectural  char 
acter  of  the  Tabernacle.  Instead  of  being  grand  or 
imposing,  the  roof  resembles  a  huge  dish-cover  with 
a  handle,  and  when  I  saw  it  I  rather  sympathized 
with  the  traveller  who  likened  the  entire  building 
"  to  a  gigantic  prairie  dog-hole."  In  the  winter,  as  it 
has  been  found  impossible  to  warm  it,  the  services  are 
held  in  the  Assembly  Hall,  which  holds  more  than 
2,000  people,  and  is  always  so  crowded  that  it  is  with 
great  difficulty  a  stranger  can  secure  a  seat.  As  an 


178  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Episcopalian,  I  must  certainly  say  that  the  adminis 
tration  of  the  Holy  Communion  on  the  Sunday  after 
noon  I  attended  the  service  there  struck  me  as  most 
painfully,  though  doubtless  k  was  unintentionally, 
irreverent.  It  was  administered  while  the  sermon 
was  being  preached.  Twelve  elders  stood  behind  a 
long  table,  and  broke  up  bread  as  fast  as  they  could, 
which  was  then  handed  round  the  entire  congregation 
by  young  men,  who  followed  with  silver  flagons  con 
taining  water.  With  this  the  mothers  of  several 
babies  present  actually  slacked  their  infants'  thirst, 
and  silenced,  for  the  time  being,  their  shrill  screams. 
The  preacher  broke  off  his  discourse  to  partake  of 
each  as  they  were  passed  along  the  dais  on  which  he 
stood  among  the  other  bishops  and  apostles,  who 
occupied  this  raised  platform  above  the  sacramental 
table.  Behind  them  all  sat  President  Taylor,  on 
whom  Brigham  Young's  mantle  has  descended. 

The  hymn  which   preceded  the   Sacrament    com 
menced — 

"  Behold  the  great  Redeemer  die, 
A  broken  law  to  satisfy  ; 
He  dies  a  sacrifice  for  sin, 
That  man  may  live,  and  glory  win." 

The  sermon,  which  lasted  nearly  two  hours,  was  on 
repentance,  faith,  baptism,  and  the  laying-on  of  hands, 
described  as  the  four  first  principles  of  the  gospel 
taught  by  Joseph  Smith,  for  which  the  "  saints  had 
been  persecuted,  and  would  be  till  the  end  of  the 
world."  Then  followed  the  doctrine  of  "  redemption 
beyond  the  grave,"  which  the  preacher  maintained 
"  ought  at  once  to  induce  honest  and  good  people  to 
view  the  religion  of  the  Latter-Day  Saints  with  favor." 


THE    DOCTRINE    OF    REDEMPTION.  179 

Then  he  warned  his  hearers  to  expect  tribulation  in 
this  world,  for  God  had  determined  to  have  "  a  tried 
people";  but  in  spite  of  all  persecution  the  kingdom 
of  God  would  be  built  up  by  the  hands  of  the  apos 
tles,  for  "  it  is  not,"  he  said,  "  a  struggle  between  the 
150,000  Latter-Day  Saints  and  the  world,  any  more 
than  it  was  a  contest  between  Luther  and  the  priests, 
but  it  is  a  conflict  between  truth  and  error,  right  and 
wrong.  This  work,"  continued  the  preacher,  "  was 
begun  by  Joseph  Smith,  and  the  clash  of  opinions 
and  the  conflict  of  ideas  which  existed  at  Nauvoo 
does  not  pertain  to  the  Latter-Day  Saints,  but  to  the 
whole  human  family.  Can  this  conflict  cease  at  the 
command  of  man  ?  Can  laws  be  passed  to  stop  the 
onward  march  of  these  principles  ?  No  more  can  it 
be  done  to-day  than  it  could  in  the  days  of  the  Puri 
tans  and  the  Huguenots.  Has  it  been  left  for  this 
land  to  engage  in  persecution  for  religious  belief? 
The  doctrine  of  redemption  beyond  the  grave  recent 
ly  advanced  by  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  of  Brooklyn,  and 
Dr.  Thomas,  of  Chicago,  was  revealed  to  Joseph  Smith 
years  ago,  and  thus  it  is  that  the  world  is  gradually 
adopting  the  principles  that  have  been  a  part  of  our 
faith  since  the  organization  of  this  Church.  This  plan 
of  salvation  is  broad  enough  to  admit  all  who  have 
lived  in  the  past,  or  who  are  to  come  in  the  future. 
Though  we  may  have  principles  obnoxious  to  the 
world,  and  in  conflict  with  even  the  honest  and  good 
people  of  the  world,  yet  when  they  come  to  reflect  in 
regard  to  this  one  principle  of  redemption  beyond  the 
grave  which  we  believe  in,  that  alone  ought  to  suffice 
to  make  them  look  upon  us  with  more  favor,  and  to 
hold  us  in  higher  esteem.  But  human  nature  is  strong 


l8o  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

in  these  matters,  and  hard  to  convince.  God  will 
have  a  tried  people,  who  shall  pass  through  tribula 
tions.  This  work  and  this  struggle  will  continue  ;  the 
kingdom  of  God  will  be  built  up  ;  our  temples  will 
arise,  and  we  will  all  eventually  join  hands  with  the 
apostles  and  the  good  and  true  of  all  nations." 

The  preacher,  Elder  John  Morgan,  a  Scotchman, 
called  on  me  at  the  Continental  Hotel  the  next  day, 
and  seemed  anxious  to  know  how  the  sermon  had 
struck  me.  He  took  me  to  the  Legislature,  which 
was  then  sitting.  Actual  polygamists  are  now  ex 
cluded  from  the  Legislature,  but  the  entire  body  has 
hitherto  followed  the  directions  of  the  Church,  and 
asserted  its  loyalty  to  Mormon  despotism  and  polyg 
amy,  and  has  passed  an  election  law  which  would  do 
away  with  the  results  of  the  Edmunds'  Bill  had  the 
Governor  signed  it,  for  it  would  have  restored  the 
franchise  to  all  polygamists,  except  the  few  who  have 
been  convicted  of  that  offence  by  the  Government, 
and  would  have  also  conferred  the  privilege  of  voting 
on  immigrants  after  only  six  months'  residence  in  the 
country. 

During  my  visit  to  this  assembly  I  heard  and  saw 
nothing  of  much  interest,  save  a  full-length  oil-paint 
ing  of  Brigham  Young,  who  was  originally  a  stone 
mason  and  builder.  I  stayed  in  one  of  the  houses  he 
helped  in  early  life  to  build — Governor  Seward's  resi 
dence  at  Auburn,  in  the  State  of  New  York ;  and  his 
early  want  of  education  and  consequent  refinement 
may  perhaps  be  remembered  as  some  excuse  for  the 
coarseness  of  his  addresses  in  the  Tabernacle.  There 
is  certainly  no  despotism  so  severe  as  that  of  the  man 
not  accustomed  to  power,  who  by  dint  of  unscrupu- 


SERMON    BY    BRIGHAM    YOUNG.  iSl 

lous  use  of  talent  achieves  a  position  of  absolute  sov 
ereignty.  President  Young's  slightest  word  was  law. 
The  Mormon  rebel  of  to-day,  under  the  milder  sway 
of  President  Taylor,  may  be  perhaps  brought  to  rea 
son  by  the  cutting  off  of  the  water  supply  on  which 
his  farming  operations  depend,  but  under  the  rule  of 
the  Napoleon  of  Mormonism  the  sickening  horrors  of 
the  Black  Vault  enforced  obedience,  or  silenced  the 
unruly  member.  The  people  were  not  only  oppressed 
and  robbed,  but  were  continually  face  to  face  with 
the  terrible  "rite  of  blood  atonement."  Whatever 
"  the  Lord  "  called  for,  whether  life  or  property,  had 
to  be  surrendered  at  once  ;  and  Bishop  Heber  Kimbal 
did  not  hesitate  to  say  in  his  sermons,  while  "  Brig- 
ham  Young  lived,  he  was  the  only  Lord  that  the 
people  had  to  do  with."  How  plainly  but  plausibly 
the  shedding  of  blood  for  the  remission  of  sins  was 
taught  is  certainly  proved  by  the  following  extract 
from  a  sermon  preached  by  Brigham  Young  in  the 
Tabernacle  on  the  8th  of  February,  1857,  and  after 
ward  published  in  the  official  organ  of  the  saints : 

"  Suppose  a  man  is  overtaken  in  a  gross  fault,  that  he  has  com 
mitted  a  sin  which  he  knows  will  deprive  him  of  that  exaltation 
which  he  desires,  and  that  he  can  not  attain  to  it  without  the 
shedding  of  his  blood,  and  also  knows  that  by  having  his  blood 
shed  ha  will  atone  for  that  sin,  and  be  saved  and  exalted  with 
the  gods,  is  there  a  man  or  woman  in  this  house  but  what  would 
say,  '  Shed  my  blood,  that  I  may  be  saved  and  exalted  with  the 
gods  ?  ' 

"  All  mankind  love  themselves  ;  and  let  these  principles  be 
known  by  an  individual,  and  he  would  be  glad  to  have  his  blood 
shed.  That  would  be  loving  themselves  even  unto  an  eternal 
exaltation.  Will  you  love  your  brothers  and  sisters  likewise 
when  they  have  committed  a  sin  that  can  not  be  atoned  for 


152  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

without  the  shedding  of  their  blood  ?  Will  you  love  that  man  or 
woman  well  enough  to  shed  their  blood  ?  That  is  what  Jesus 
Christ  meant.  He  never  told  a  man  or  woman  to  love  their 
enemies  in  their  wickedness.  He  never  intended  any  such  thing. 

"  I  could  refer  you  to  plenty  of  instances  where  men  have  been 
righteously  slain  in  order  to  atone  for  their  sins.  I  have  seen 
scores  and  hundreds  of  people  for  whom  there  would  have  been 
a  chance  in  the  last  resurrection  if  their  lives  had  been  taken 
and  their  blood  spilled  upon  the  ground  as  a  smoking  incense 
to  the  Almighty,  but  who  are  now  angels  to  the  devil,  until  our 
elder  Brother,  Jesus  Christ,  raises  them  up,  conquers  death,  hell, 
and  the  grave.  I  have  known  a  great  many  men  who  have  lett 
this  Church,  for  whom  there  is  no  chance  whatever  for  exalta 
tion  ;  but  if  their  blood  had  been  spilled  it  would  have  been  bet 
ter  for  them.  The  wickedness  and  ignorance  of  the  nations  for 
bid  this  principle  being  in  full  force,  but  the  time  will  come  when 
the  law  of  God  will  be  in  full  force. 

"  This  is  loving  our  neighbor  as  ourselves  ;  if  he  needs  help, 
help  him ;  and  if  he  wants  salvation,  and  it  is  necessary  to  spill 
his  blocd  upon  the  ground  in  order  that  he  may  be  saved,  spill 
it.  Any  of  you  who  understand  the  principles  of  eternity,  if  you 
have  sinned  a  sin  requiring  the  shedding  of  blood,  except  the  sin 
unto  death,  would  not  be  satisfied  nor  rest  until  your  blood 
should  be  spilled,  that  you  might  gain  that  salvation  you  desire. 
That  is  the  way  to  love  mankind." 

As  a  natural  consequence  of  this  teaching,  credu 
lous  and  ignorant  fanatics  were  easily  induced  to 
carry  out  hints  plainly  directed  by  the  cunning  Presi 
dent  at  some  obnoxious  individual,  who  was  forth 
with  put  out  of  the  way,  on  the  ground  that  by  thus 
spilling  his  blood  they  were  saving  his  immortal  soul, 
and  giving  the  best  possible  proof  of  their  own  broth 
erhood. 

There  are  many  documents  which  amply  justify 
what  I  have  written  about  the  real  feeling  of  the 
ladies  of  Utah.  Some  time  ago  a  petition  was  sent 


LADIES'  PETITION  TO  CONGRESS.          183 

to  Congress  signed  by  nearly  500  women,  numbers  of 
whom  had  a  "  personal  and  bitter  experience  of  the 
practical  workings  of  polygamy."  I  am  acquainted 
with  some  of  the  ladies  :  one  was  the  wife  of  William 
S.  Godbe,  who  began  at  this  crisis  an  effort  to  start  a 
reformed  branch  of  the  Mormon  Church,  in  which 
polygamy  should  not  be  tolerated.  The  despotism 
of  Brigham  Young  was  very  plainly  denounced,  and 
his  frequent  resort  to  "  the  atonement  by  blood  "  doc 
trine  alluded  to  in  these  remarkable  words :  "  Never 
in  this  world  will  the  history  of  these  dark  deeds  be 
fully  written,  for  the  victim  and  witness  of  many  a 
tragedy  are  hidden  together  in  the  grave";  and  again, 
speaking  of  Brigham  Young  as  being  the  ecclesias 
tical,  civil,  and  military  head  of  the  territory,  the  doc 
ument  continues,  "  The  history  of  his  reign — for  it  is 
nothing  else — is  written  in  characters  of  blood."  But 
in  spite  of  all  this  testimony,  Mr.  Cannon  has  actually 
asserted  that  the  whole  foundation  of  the  blood 
atonement  charge  is  that  the  Latter-Day  Saints  be 
lieve  in  "  the  Biblical  doctrine  that  men  who  commit 
crimes  should  be  executed  !  " 

When  it  was  known  in  America  that  I  was  visiting 
Salt  Lake  City,  several  of  the  leading  newspapers  ex 
pressed  the  hope  that  I. should  bring  the  "real  in 
wardness  "of  Mormonism  before  our  people  at  home. 
"A  very  large  proportion  of  the  victims,"  wrote  the 
Chicago  Inter-Ocean,  "  are  importations  from  Great 
Britain.  Missionaries,  supplied  with  ample  letters  of 
credit,  act  as  panders  for  polygamy  in  the  large  towns 
and  hamlets,  inducing  poor  people  to  accept  family 
tickets  to  Utah,  generally  withholding  from  them  the 
knowledge  of  what  awaits  the  girls  of  the  household. 


184  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Mr.  Evarts,  when  Secretary  of  State,  tried  to  check 
this  evil  through  consuls,  but  he  could  accomplish 
nothing.  Queen  Victoria  should  protect  her  subjects 
from  such  an  imposition.  Our  Government  would 
gladly  co-operate  in  any  feasible  plan  having  that  ob 
ject  in  view." 

How  far  Her  Majesty  can  "protect  her  subjects" 
in  this  direction  I  can  not  undertake  to  say ;  but  be 
lieving  that  some  service  can  be  done- by  presenting 
to  the  public  true  pictures  of  Mormon  life,  I  have 
endeavored  in  these  pages  to  give  my  readers  the 
benefit  of  all  the  information  I  obtained  while  resid 
ing  among  this  "  peculiar  people,"  which  I  consider 
has  an  important  bearing  on  the  extraordinary  phase 
presented  to  the  world  by  the  social  life  and  practices 
of  the  Latter-Day  Saints. 

The  feeling  of  the  necessity  for  a  better  under 
standing  among  the  English  people  of  the  true  na 
ture  of  Mormonism  has  certainly  been  very  much 
strengthened  by  the  numerous  letters  I  have  received 
from  strangers  since  my  return  to  this  country.  Many 
persons  have  written  to  me  about  a  friend,  a  niece,  or 
even  a  daughter.  "  She  has  gone  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  is  longing  to  come  back,  she  is  so  unhappy,"  is 
the  burden  of  the  several  letters  now  lying  by  my 
side.  Another  writes  that  "agents  of  Mormonism 
are  still  inducing  numbers  of  our  young  people,  in  the 
east  of  London,  to  go  out  of  our  country;  they  are 
deluded  by  the  missionary's  perversion  of  the  Scrip 
tures  to  suit  his  own  inclinations,  and  allured  with 
the  belief  that  in  Salt  Lake  City  they  will  find  Zion 
or  Paradise  at  once." 

A  few  years  ago  such  a  missionary  visited  a  remote 


A    CORNISH    GIRL'S    FATE.  185 

district  in  Cornwall.  He  made  many  converts,  among 
them  a  respectable,  worthy  woman,  who,  at  her  sis 
ter's  death,  had  taken  charge  of  her  children,  and 
brought  them  up  with  such  tender  affection  that  the 
eldest  daughter  quite  regarded  her  in  the  light  of  a 
mother.  Great  was  the  grief  and  consternation  of 
that  little  household  when  it  was  discovered  that  the 
"  aunt "  had  resolved  to  join  the  band  of  Mormon 
converts,  and  leave  her  home  and  kindred  to  seek  the 
New  Jerusalem  in  the  heart  of  the  great  American 
continent.  Three  years  later  the  missionary  returned 
to  the  same  place  for  new  recruits.  Nothing  in  the 
meanwhile  had  been  heard  of  the  dearly-loved  rela 
tive  whose  departure  had  left  such  a  blank  in  that 
once  happy  little  home.  Joy  filled  the  entire  house 
hold  on  hearing  of  her  happiness  and  prosperity  in 
the  far-away  land  of  her  adoption.  The  eldest  daugh 
ter  was  much-moved  when  told  that  her  "aunt-moth 
er"  greatly  desired  her  family  and  friends  to  join  her, 
and  share  in  the  good  things  that  had  fallen  to  her 
lot,  and  at  last  she  herself  was  induced  to  accept  the 
faith  which  brought  with  it  such  rich  spiritual  and 
temporal  benefits,  and  finally  consented  to  leave  her 
father  and  the  rest  of  the  children  to  start  off  to 
Utah,  with  a  few  other  converts  from  the  village. 
She  would  write  for  her  dear  ones  to  join  her,  she 
thought,  when  she  found  the  "  promised  land  "  all  it 
was  represented.  Meanwhile  she  was  delighted  with 
the  idea  of  "  the  joyful  surprise"  she  would  give  her 
aunt,  and  set  forth,  gaily  anticipating  that  happy  re 
union,  little  dreaming,  poor  girl,  of  the  fate  that  re 
ally  awaited  her.  Of  course  "the  degrading  doctrine 
of  polygamy  had  in  both  instances  been  carefully 
kept  out  of  sight.  She  was  assured  that  all  her  past 


1 86  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

sins  had  been  washed  away  by  the  waters  of  baptism, 
and  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  freely 
promised  her  in  the  impressive  and  convincing  lan 
guage  which  the  Mormon  brothers  who  are  selected 
for  this  work  know  so  well  how  to  use. 

During  the  sea  voyage  the  missionary's  deep  inter 
est  in  his  young  disciple's  spiritual  condition  was  ex 
changed  for  the  more  attractive  attentions  of  an 
ordinary  lover,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  he  gradu 
ally  succeeded  in  winning  this  young  and  inexperi 
enced  girl's  affections.  Naturally  proud  of  her  con 
quest  of  this  "  great  and  good  man's  heart,"  she 
gladly  consented  to  marry  him.  On  landing  in  New 
York  some  little  delay  was  experienced.  The  "  elder" 
was  awaiting  fresh  instructions,  he  said ;  but  the  time 
passed  very  pleasantly,  while  he  made  full  use  of  all 
his  opportunities,  representing  to  her  how  much  bet 
ter  it  would  be  if  the  marriage  took  place  while  they 
waited  in  the  city,  before  they  started  forth  on  the 
long  journey  across  the  plains.  Having  by  this  time 
gained  complete  ascendency  over  the  girl's  mind  and 
heart,  she  contentedly  yielded  to  his  solicitation  ;  the 
marriage  ceremony  was  performed,  and  she  felt  that 
when  she  met  her  aunt  her  cup  of  happiness  would 
indeed  be  filled  to  the  brim.  Just  before,  however, 
they  reached  the  town  in  Utah  where  her  husband 
resided,  it  was  rudely  dashed  from  her  lips  by  the 
startling  acknowledgment  of  the  polygamy  practiced 
by  the  saints,  and  the  still  more  dreadful  announce 
ment  that  he  was  himself  already  married,  and  would 
have  to  take  her  to  his  first  wife's  own  abode  on 
reaching  their  destination.  Stunned  by  a  revelation 
as  unexpected  as  it  was  repugnant,  with  the  happy 
joy  and  loving  pride  which  had  hitherto  filled  her 


THE    MEETING    OF    THE    WIVES.  187 

soul  turned  thus  suddenly  into  bitterness  and  dis 
trust,  the  poor  girl  began  to  anticipate  with  simple 
horror  the  meeting  between  herself  and  the  supplant 
ed  wife  ;  for  her  husband's  protestations  of  devotion, 
combined  with  the  early  training  she  had  received 
from  her  aunt  in  her  simple  English  home,  made  her 
feel  as  if  she  had  basely  helped  to  injure  and  betray 
the  slighted  wife,  who  would  now  be  required  to  give 
place  to  a  rival  in  her  husband's  affections.  Imagine 
her  dismay  when  the  home  was  reached  and  the  first 
wife  proved  to  be  her  own  aunt.  The  veil  is  better 
drawn  over  the  misery  endured  by  both  these  vic 
tims.  Deceived  alike  by  the  man  who  combined  the 
religious  teacher  with  the  apparently  devoted  hus 
band  into  a  position  they  both  regarded  as  equally 
degrading,  tortured  by  the  love  more  easily  kindled 
than  extinguished  in  the  heart  of  a  true  woman,  the 
shock  proved  fatal  to  the  aunt.  Crushed  and  humili 
ated,  after  a  few  months  of  mental  anguish  and 
physical  suffering  death  came  to  her  bruised  spirit, 
not  as  a  stern  conqueror,  but  as  a  welcome  deliverer 
from  a  bondage  against  which  her  whole  nature  re 
volted. 

This  is  no  romance ;  it  is  one  of  the  many  sad  his 
tories  I  know  to  be  true.  I  could  recount  others  still 
more  heartrending ;  but  too  many  of  the  tales  of 
plural  wives  are  not  only  painful  but  revolting.  It  is 
by  no  means  uncommon  for  a  Mormon  to  marry  two 
sisters,  and  the  marriage  of  an  aged  elder  with  his 
own  youthful  step-daughter  has  even  outraged  the 
feelings  of  a  wretched  mother;  but  as  a  good  wife 
she  was  bound  to  submit  to  this  horrible  ordeal,  for 
was  not  this  the  celestial  order  of  marriage,  and  un 
dertaken  in  obedience  to  direct  revelation  ? 


CHAPTER    XII. 

The  President's  Secretary,  Mr.  George  Reynolds— Mr.  G.  O. 
Cannon — A  religious  argument  after  the  President's  luncheon 
— The  ox-team  wagon  journey  across  the  plains — Mormon 
amusements,  theatres,  and  dances — The  effect  of  stage-plays 
on  the  plural  wives  —Captain  Boyd  on  the  Latter-Day  Saints 
— The  Mormon  Bible — The  Doctrines  and  Covenants — 
"Joseph  the  Seer's"  revelations  from  the  Lord  to  his  wife 
Emma — The  women's  right  to  the  franchise  and  their  depri 
vation  of  dower — Accusations  against  the  Gentiles — Mormon 
criminal  statistics — The  Salt  Lake  Tribtine  on  "  Gulled  Eng 
lish  travellers  " — Celestial  marriages  and  divorces — Governor 
Murray — Mrs.  Paddick — The  duty  of  Congress. 

As  I  have  already  stated,  nothing  could  exceed  the 
kindness  and  courtesy  shown  to  me  by  the  leading 
Mormons.  Shortly  after  my  arrival  at  Salt  Lake 
City,  the  President  gave  a  large  luncheon  party  in 
my  honor  at  the  Guardo  House.  He  kindly  sent  his 
own  carriage  to  the  hotel  for  me,  and  his  Secretary 
was  desired  to  explain  how  a  cold  had  unfortunately 
detained  him  in  the  house,  but  that  he  had  given  in 
structions  that,  before  proceeding  to  the  Guardo 
House,  I  should  be  driven  to  the  chief  points  of  in- 
ferest  in  the  neighborhood,  and  to  the  hills,  from 
which  a  magnificent  view  of  the  city  could  be  ob 
tained.  I  (discovered  subsequently  that  the  said  Sec 
retary  who  had  me  thus  in  charge  was  the  notorious 
Mr.  George  Reynolds,  one  of  the  few  Mormon  hus 
bands  convicted  of  polygamy  under  the  Act  passed  in 
1862,  and  subjected  to  the  penalty  of  his  transgres- 
(188) 


MR.   G.    Q.    CANNON.  189 

sion.  After  his  two  years'  imprisonment,  however, 
he  returned  to  his  former  wives,  though  I  believe  he 
has  abstained  from  increasing  their  number. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  Guardo  House,  one  of  the 
daughters  met  me  —  a  pleasant  girl  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  who  seemed  very  proud  of  the  city,  and 
anxious  I  should  admire  all  its  institutions.  On 
entering  the  drawing-room,  the  President  presented 
me  to  a  lady,  "  one  of  my  wives  "  being  the  strange 
formulary !  I  soon  found  myself  in  the  thick  of 
apostles,  priests,  and  priestesses.  Foremost  among 
the  latter  was  "  Sister  Eliza  Snow,"  the  Mormon 
poetess,  who,  in  spite  of  having  celebrated  her 
eightieth  birthday  two  or  three  days  previously,  had 
evidently  lost  none  of  her  vigor  and  enthusiasm,  as 
she  fully  showed  in  an  effort  she  made  at  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  luncheon  for  my  conversion.  Opposite 
me  sat  Joseph  F.  Smith,  nephew  of  the  Mormon 
founder,  and  next  to  him  a  lady  from  Stockport, 
"  sealed  "  to  President  Taylor  for  the  life  that  now  is 
and  that  which  is  to  come.  Both  of  them  alluded 
openly  to  their  relationship,  and  regretted  I  did  not 
see  the  value  of  forming  associations  which  would 
last  throughout  eternity. 

President  John  Taylor  is  a  mild,  benevolent-look 
ing  old  gentleman  from  Cumberland,  and  was  a  Meth 
odist  preacher  in  England  before  his  conversion  to 
Mormonism ;  he  is  a  very  intelligent  but  not  a  strong 
man,  consequently  he  yields  to  the  advice  of  his  two 
counsellors,  Mr.  George  Q.  Cannon  and  Mr.  Joseph 
Smith — both  of  them  men  of  brains,  the  former,  who 
was  born  in  Liverpool,  having  to  a  certain  degree  the 
polish  of  the  man  of  the  world  as  well.  None  of 


igO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Mr.  Cannon's  wives  were  present  with  him  on  this 
occasion  ;  he  took  the  young  English  lady  who  was 
travelling  with  me — Miss  Charlotte  Robinson— into 
luncheon,  and  made  himself  particularly  agreeable, 
talking  on  many  matters  with  the  familiarity  of  a  man 
who  has  seen  and  read  much,  and  taken  a  keen  in 
terest  in  matters  beyond  his  own  immediate  religion 
and  circle. 

While  we  were  discussing  the  good  things  pro 
vided,  which,  I  may  remark,  were  excellently  cooked, 
and  served  by  six  young  ladies,  who  were  evidently 
related  to  the  President — probably  his  daughters — 
the  conversation  was  general.  It  included  the  usual 
topics  introduced  at  such  gatherings,  and  of  course 
the  inevitable  question,  "  How  did  I  like  America?" 
Before  we  left  the  table,  however,  "Sister  Eliza" 
attacked  me  on  certain  vital  questions,  likely,  in  her 
opinion,  to  put  a  Gentile  to  open  confusion.  For 
instance,  if  I  admitted  that  I  regarded  the  Bible  as  an 
inspired  book,  how  could  I  reject  the  doctrine  of 
plural  marriage,  which  was  decidedly  taught  in  it  and 
practiced  by  Biblical  saints  "  whom  the  Lord  loved  "  ? 
If  I  believed  that  God  walked  and  talked  with  holy 
men  of  old,  that  He  gave  them  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
and  vouchsafed  to  them  special  revelations,  why 
should  His  power  be  limited  now?  Those  who 
were  stubborn  and  stiff-necked  in  days  gone  by  had 
refused  to  listen  to  God's  servants  then,  just  as  the 
Gentiles  of  to-day  reject  the  teachings  of  Joseph 
Smith,  and  deny  the  revelations  made  to  Latter-Day 
Saints !  When  she  spoke  of  the  heavenly  joys  in 
store  for  those  who  had  obeyed  God's  commandments 
by  having  plural  wives  on  earth,  I  ventured  to  remind 


WRESTING    OF    THE    SCRIPTURES.          ,     19 1 

her  of  the  answer  Christ  gave  the  Sadducees,  to  the 
effect  that  "  when  they  rise  from  the  dead  they  neither 
marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels 
in  heaven  ";  but  in  reply  there  was  quite  a  general 
chorus  to  the  effect  that  the  marriages  had  already 
taken  place  on  earth,  and,  in  short,  the  verse  was 
held  to  establish  their  dicta  on  the  propriety  of 
arranging  such  relationships  in  the  present  world  for 
enjoyment  in  the  next. 

The  conversation  was  but  another  instance  of  the 
way  in  which  all  things  read  according  to  our  personal 
"point  of  view."  As  I  remarked  to  my  Mormon 
friends,  it  reminded  me  of  the  story  of  the  dream  that 
during  one  night  the  Bible  became  a  blank,  and  when 
the  people  were  called  together  the  next  day  to  sup 
ply  as  far  as  possible  the  valuable  guidance  the  world 
had  thus  lost,  each  denomination  furnished  that  part 
of  the  text  that  exactly  coincided  with  its  own  way 
of  thinking,  and  conveniently  forgot  the  rest !  To 
reconstruct  the  Bible  upon  this  system,  was,  however, 
deemed  worse  than  useless  ;  the  work  was  consequent 
ly  abandoned,  and  the  blank  Bible  remained,  the 
legend  states,  as  a  witness  against  the  inhabitants  of 
that  city  forevermore.  From  time  immemorial  there 
have  not  been  wanting  in  every  community  those  who 
thus  "  wrest  the  Scriptures  to  their  own  destruction," 
and  religious  arguments  are  notoriously  futile  every 
where  ! 

Many  present  at  that  luncheon  party  had  crossed 
the  plains  long  before  the  Great  Pacific  Railroad  made 
travelling  from  New  York  to  Salt  Lake  City  only  a 
matter  of  a  few  days'  journey,  and  they  gave  most  in 
teresting  accounts  of  perilous  adventures  with  Indians, 


1 92  THREE    VISITS    TO    AiMERICA. 

and  of  life  in  ox-team  wagons,  when  fifteen  miles  a 
day  was  esteemed  a  fair  progress,  and  every  evening 
saw  the  emigrants  in  some  newly  pitched  tent,  where 
they  beguiled  the  weary  hours  with  song  and  story. 
Sometimes  rivers  had  to  be  forded,  at  other  times  no 
water  could  be  found  ;  the  women  and  children  shared 
with  strong  men  the  agonies  of  thirst ;  the  sun  smote 
them  by  day,  and  the  cruel  frosts  of  the  night 
crippled  them  with  rheumatism,  and  many  who  ex 
pected  to  see  the  promised  Zion  were  left  by  the  way 
side  in  lonely  graves,  for  sickness  of  all  kinds  came 
upon  them  in  that  terrible  desert,  and  winter  with  its 
fearful  hardships  overtook  the  wanderers.  After  the 
privations  recounted,  I  wondered  that  any  one  had 
survived  to  tell  the  tale  ! 

Dances  are  very  popular  in  Utah  ;  some  of  them 
are  opened  and  closed  by  prayer  by  some  of  the  so- 
called  elders,  who  are  invariably  present,  and  take  an 
active  part  in  the  dancing,  often  discharging  the 
onerous  duties  of  floor  master,  for  "  calling  the  fig 
ures  "  is  quite  a  feature  of  a  country  dance  in  Amer 
ica.  These  dances  are  the  delight  of  the  Mormon 
brethren  and  younger  sisters,  and  are  eagerly  antici 
pated  by  them.  They  afford  excellent  opportunities 
for  "  courtships."  The  wives,  after  one  dance  with 
their  husbands,  sit  patiently  round  the  room  while 
their  lords  enjoy  themselves  with  the  young  girls  who 
have  recently  attracted  their  fancy.  Many  a  heart 
ache  has  been  experienced  in  these  gay  and  festive 
scenes.  A  wife  has  watched  with  kindling  eye  her 
husband's  devotion  to  his  last  love,  till,  unable  to 
endure  it  any  longer,  she  has  taken  refuge  in  the 
dressing-room,  and  vented  her  feelings  in  angry  and 


THE    MORMON    THEATRE.  193 

indignant  words  to  a  group  of  sympathetic  listeners 
of  her  own  sex.  English  chaperones  sometimes  find 
the  task  of  watching  and  waiting  dreary  enough ;  but 
what  is  the  anxiety  of  seeing  a  daughter  dancing 
with  young  Briefless,  or  sitting  out  a  "  square  "  with 
some  ineligible  in  the  conservatory,  or  some  equally 
secluded  spot,  to  the  anguish  of  beholding  a  husband 
using  every  art  to  win  another  bride,  knowing  that 
the  girl  he  has  selected  will  probably  not  scruple  to 
claim  from  him  the  complete  surrender  of  his  affec 
tions,  which,  for  the  time  being,  Utah  husbands — like 
other  gentlemen — are  generally  willing  to  accord. 

Literary  and  choral  unions,  glee  clubs  and  musical 
parties,  also  abound,  and  the  Salt  Lake  City  theatres 
are  well  patronized.  Mrs.  Stenhouse,  an  "  apostate  " 
lady  I  met  in  San  Francisco,  considers  that  "  the 
worst  day's  work  Brigham  Young  ever  did  in  the  in 
terests  of  his  religion "  was  the  building  of  the 
theatre,  for  she  believes  "  it  has  done  more  than  any 
thing  else  to  shake  the  faith  of  Mormon  women." 

The  pictures  represented  on  the  stage  of  the  deli 
cate  tender  union  of 

"  Two  souls  with  but  a  single  thought,  " 
Two  hearts  that  beat  as  one  "; 

the  .happiness  springing  from  the  marriage  based  on 
the  gift  for  life  of  the  entire  heart,  over  which  one 
wife  alone  has  the  right  to  reign  and  rule,  contrasted 
strangely  with  the  coarse  and  painful  effects  of  the 
polygamy  around  them,  which  simply  reduces  woman 
to  an  "  inferior  creature  "  made  to  obey  man's  sover 
eign  will  and  pleasure,  grateful  for  the  honor  of  be 
coming  the  mother  of  his  children,  and  only  allowed 
9 


194  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

a  hope  of  another  life  through  his  intervention,  with 
the  reward  of  still  serving  him  in  the  next  existence 
if  she  has  proved  faithful  here.  The  courtship  and 
marriage  of  the  husband  with  some  young  girl  who 
might  have  been  his  daughter,  in  the  face  of  the  wife 
of  his  youth,  seemed  all  the  more  revolting  after  even 
a  theatrical  representation  of  a  higher  and  purer  life. 
The  ready  perceptive  faculty  of  the  women,  quick 
ened  by  a  sense  of  personal  wrongs,  enabled  many 
Salt  Lake  wives  to  appreciate  keenly  the  wide  gulf 
between  the  poetic  ideals  of  wedded  bliss  as  seen  be 
hind  the  footlights,  and  the  degradation  involved  in 
Joseph  Smith's  revelation  of  celestial  marriage. 
"  Mormonism,"  said  Captain  Boyd  to  me  one  day  at 
Greeley,  "  is  the  only  brand  new  religion  the  American 
nation  has  had  the  honor  of  inventing."  The  tran 
scendentalism  of  New  England  is  a  philosophy  rather 
than  a  religion,  and  owes  everything  to  Kant  and 
Hegel,  but  Mormonism  is  a  new  departure.  Its  essen 
tially  characteristic  doctrine  is  that  revelation  is  per 
petual.  Not  only  has  it  a  new  inspired  prophet  of 
its  own,  whose  word  is  more  authoritative  than  that 
of  all  preceding  prophets,  but  with  "  genuine  Yankee 
liberality,"  as  my  friend  described  it,  it  keeps  the  lists 
open  for  other  inspired  prophets,  each  of  whose 
latest  utterances  will  not  only  be  more  authoritative 
than  those  of  his  predecessors,  but  may  contradict 
and  reverse  the  prophet's  own  earlier  dicta.  "  This 
perpetually  renewed  inspiration"  certainly  gives  an 
elasticity  to  their  system  unknown  to  other  creeds. 
The  Book  of  Mormon  and  The  Doctrines  and  Cove 
nants,  their  two  most  important  books,  are  supposed 
to  be  "  divine  revelations." 


THE    BOOK    OF    MORMON.  1 95 

Mr.  James  Jeffries,  of  Hartford  County,  gives  the 
following  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mor 
mon,  which  is  stated  to  be  a  romance  purporting  to 
give  the  origin  and  history  of  the  American  Indians : 

"  Forty  years  ago  I  was  in  business  in  St.  Louis.  The  Mor 
mons  then  had  their  temple  in  Nauvoo,  Illinois.  I  had  business 
transactions  with  them.  Sidney  Rigdon  I  knew  very  well.  He 
was  general  manager  of  the  affairs  of  the  Mormons.  Rigdon, 
in  course  of  conversation,  told  me  a  number  of  times  that  there 
was  in  the  printing-office  with  which  he  was  connected  in  Ohio 
a  manuscript  of  the  Rev.  Solomon  Spaulding's,  tracing  the  origin 
of  the  Indian  race  from  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  ;  that  this  manu 
script  was  in  the  office  for  several  years ;  that  he  was  familiar 
with  it ;  that  Spaulding  had  wanted  it  printed,  but  had  not  the 
means  to  pay  for  the  printing ;  that  he  (Rigdon)  and  Joe  Smith 
used  to  look  over  the  manuscript  and  read  it  on  Sundays.  Rig 
don  said  Smith  took  the  manuscript  and  said,  '  I'll  print  it,'  and 
went  off  to  Palmyra,  New  York." 

The  only  passages  worth  reading  in  the  Book  of  Mor 
mon  are  those  directly  stolen  from  the  Bible,  and  the 
following  extracts  from  the  other  volume  will,  I  think, 
enable  my  readers  to  form  an  opinion  not  only  as  to 
its  puerile  character,  but  the  extremely  convenient 
nature  of  the  so-called  "  revelations "  through  "  Jo 
seph  the  Seer,"  as  Mr.  Smith  is  designated.  For  in 
stance,  when  this  worthy  gentleman  wanted  a  house 
built  for  himself,  he  published  a  revelation  he  had  re 
ceived  at  Nauvoo,  in  which  "  the  Lord  God,"  after 
promising  to  save  all  the  pure  in  heart  that  had  been 
slain  in  the  land  of  Missouri,  continues  : 

"  And  now  I  say  unto  you,  as  pertaining  to  my  boarding- 
house,  which  I  have  commanded  you  to  build  for  the  boarding 
of  strangers,  let  it  be  built  unto  my  name,  and  let  my  name  be 


196  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

named  upon  it,  and  let  my  servant  Joseph  and  his  house  have 
place  therein,  from  generation  to  generation.  For  this  anointing 
have  I  put  upon  his  head,  that  his  blessing  shall  also  be  put  upon 
the  head  of  his  posterity  after  him. 

"  Therefore,  let  my  servant  Joseph  and  his  seed  after  him  have 
place  in  that  house,  from  generation  to  generation,  forever  and 
ever,  saith  the  Lord.  And  let  the  name  of  that  house  be  called 
Nauvoo  House,  and  let  it  be  a  delightful  habitation  for  man,  and 
a  resting-place  for  the  weary  traveller,  that  he  may  contemplate 
the  glory  of  Zion,  and  the  glory  of  this  the  corner-stone  thereof." 

As  an  example  of  the  prophet's  eye  to  business, 
and  his  cool  method  of  disposing  of  other  men's 
goods,  this  quotation  will  suffice : 

"  And  again  I  say  unto  you,  that  my  servant  Isaac  Moreley  may 
not  be  tempted  above  that  which  he  is  able  to  bear,  and  counsel 
wrongfully  to  your  hurt.  I  give  commandment  that  his  farm 
should  be  sold. 

"  I  will  not  that  my  servant  Frederick  G.  Williams  should  sell 
his  farm,  for  I  the  Lord  will  to  retain  a  stronghold  in  the  land  of 
Kirtland  for  the  space  of  five  years,  in  the  which  I  will  not  over 
throw  the  wicked,  and  thereby  I  may  save  some. 

"  And  again  verily  I  say  unto  you,  let  my  servant  Sidney  Gil 
bert  plant  himself  in  this  place  and  establish  a  store,  that  he  may 
sell  goods  without  fraud,  that  he  may  obtain  money  to  buy  lands 
for  the  good  of  the  saints,  and  that  he  may  obtain  whatsoever 
things  the  disciples  may  need  to  plant  them  in  their  inheritance. 
And  also  let  my  servant  Sidney  Gilbert  obtain  a  license  (behold ! 
here  is  wisdom,  and  whoso  readeth,  let  him  understand),  that  he 
may  send  goods  also  unto  the  people,  even  by  whom  he  will,  as 
clerks  employed  in  his  service. 

"  And  again  verily  I  say  unto  you,  let  my  servant  William  W. 
Phelps  be  planted  in  this  place,  and  be  established  as  a  printer 
unto  the  Church. 

"  And  lo,  if  the  world  receiveth  his  writings  (behold  here  is  wis 
dom),  let  him  obtain  whatsoever  he  can  obtain  in  righteousness 
for  the  good  of  the  saints." 


FRANCHISE    AND    DOWER.  1 97 

After  the  revelation  about  the  plurality  of  wives, 
Joseph  Smith  had  special  messages  from  the  Lord 
for  his  wife,  which  ran  thus : 

"  And  let  mine  handmaid  Emma  Smith  receive  all  those  that 
have  been  given  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  and  who  are  virtuous 
and  pure  before  me,  and  those  who  are  not  pure,  and  have  said 
they  were  pure,  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the  Lord  God. 

"  And  I  command  mine  handmaid  Emma  Smith  to  abide  and 
cleave  unto  my  servant  Joseph,  and  to  no  one  else.  But  if  she 
will  not  abide  this  commandment,  she  shall  be  destroyed,  saith 
the  Lord,  for  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  will  destroy  her  if  she 
abide  not  in  my  law." 

To  leave  the  way  open,  for  any  future  revelations 
which  might  be  deemed  politic,  the  astute  and  saintly 
Joseph  concludes: 

"  And  now,  as  pertaining  to  this  law,  verily,  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  I  will  reveal  more  unto  you  hereafter ;  therefore,  let  this  suf 
fice  for  the  present.  Behold,  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega.  Amen." 

Among  the  curious  anomalies  existing  in  Utah  is 
the  right  of  women  to  the  franchise  and  their  de 
privation  of  dower.  The  organ  of  the  Latter-Day 
Saints  explains  that  dower  was  an  "  invention  of  bar 
barism  " — a  miserable  compensation  for  "  the  vassal 
age  "  under  which  the  same  law  placed  women.  But 
I  was  at  a  loss  to  discover  how  the  laws  of  Utah  im 
prove  the  condition  of  women,  when  a  husband  is 
given  the  power  to  take  away  his  wife's  goods — to 
hand  them  over,  if  it  be  his  lordly  pleasure,  to  the 
new  wife  who  has  supplanted  her  in  his  affections.  I 
was  told,  on  authority  which  could  not  be  impugned, 
of  women  robbed  of  their  property  for  the  benefit  of 
a  new  wife.  It  also  struck  me  as  very  strange,  that, 


198  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

while  President  Taylor  claimed  that  "  celestial  mar 
riages  "  were  "  eternal  covenants,  eternal  unions,  eter 
nal  associations,"  that  divorces  were  to  be  had  with 
out  difficulty,  and  for  a  few  dollars,  in  Utah.  Some 
Mormons  assured  me  that  mutual  consent  alone  is 
necessary ;  the  marriages  are  religious,  not  legal ; 
and,  accordingly,  no  real  legal  difficulty  attends  their 
dissolution.  "  Celestial  marriage,"  too,  certainly  con 
veys  an  idea  of  a  purely  spiritual  union,  and  when  Jo 
seph  Smith  first  published  his  revelation,  it  was  sup 
posed  to  be  such  by  many  of  his  followers.  No  won 
der  that  when  the  truth  came  out  many  of  his  horri 
fied  disciples  forsook  him  and  fled. 

There  are  many  other  contradictions  in  this  ex 
traordinary  system  which  could  be  easily  pointed 
out,  and  those  who  wish  to  pursue  the  matter  further 
should  read  a  vivid  picture  of  Mormon  life  by  Mrs.  A. 
G.  Paddick,  entitled,  The  Fate  of  Madame  La  Tour. 
It  was  published  about  three  years  ago  in  the  form 
of  a  novel,  and  certainly  deserves  to  rank  with 
Mrs.  Stowe's  Uncle  Toms  Cabin,  for  it  throws  as 
much  light  upon  the  practices  of  the  Latter-Day 
Saints  as  Mrs.  Stowe's  book  did  upon  the  evils  of 
slavery.  I  have  reasons  for  confidently  stating  it  is 
a  trustworthy  history,  which  at  least  should  be  care 
fully  studied  by  those  who  are  endeavoring  to  under 
stand  the  problems  presented  by  Mormonism. 

It  is  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  arrive  at  a  sound 
conclusion  respecting  the  criminal  statistics  shown 
by  the  Mormons.  Some  people  assert  that  "  figures 
never  lie,"  others  that  "  they  will  prove  anything," 
and  I  rather  incline  to  the  latter  idea.  Disreputable 
houses,  gambling  and  drinking  saloons,  are  declared 


GULLED  ENGLISH  TRAVELLERS.      199 

to  be  the  direct  importations  of  the  Gentiles.  "  We 
have  no  waifs  and  strays  such  as  are  found  in  the 
large  cities  of  Christendom,"  insists  President  Taylor; 
"  the  children  of  our  families  do  not  gravitate  to  the 
poor-house,  for  we  have  no  such  establishments  in 
the  Territory,  and  our  poor  are  cared  for  by  the 
bishops  and  by  the  members  of  our  ladies'  relief 
societies." 

The  Salt  Lake  Tribune  indulges  in  severe  com 
ments  on  the  fact  that  the  passing  visitor  is  often 
misled  by  the  specious  statements  put  before  him. 
While  I  was  in  the  city,  "Another  Gulled  English 
man  "  was  the  heading  of  an  article  on  Mr.  James  W. 
Barclay's  contribution  to  this  vexed  question,  in 
which  he  maintained,  and  with  truth,  that  the  people 
are  industrious  and  temperate.  "  If  they  are,"  wrote 
the  Tribune,  "  it  is  no  more  than  the  slaves  of  the 
South  were,  and  proves  nothing  save  that  there  can 
often  be  a  calm  under  an  absolute  despotism.  Then 
the  crime  statistics,  so  stale  in  their  repetition,  prove 
nothing,  for  a  threefold  reason.  What  is  a  crime  in 
a  Gentile  is  not  a  crime  in  a  Mormon.  If  a  Gentile 
gets  drunk,  he  is  arrested  and  fined.  If  a  Mormon 
does  the  same  thing,  he  is  carried  home  by  the  police 
or  locked  up  until  sober  and  then  turned  out,  and  no 
charge  is  made  against  him.  Again,  the  Mormons 
have  their  own  secret  courts,  and  no  mortal  outside 
knows  of  their  decrees.  Finally,  all  who  are  not  in 
good  standing  in  the  Mormon  Church  are  called  Gen 
tiles.  What  would  be  said  of  the  Methodist  or  Pres 
byterian  or  Baptist  minister  who  should  say  of  his 
congregation,  '  Of  all  people  convicted  of  crime  in 
my  parish  last  year,  not  more  than  ten  per  cent,  were 


2CO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

members  in  good  standing  in  my  church.'  That  is 
what  the  Mormon  priests,  in  effect,  did  when  they 
were  stuffing  Mr.  Barclay.  And  Mr.  Barclay  insists 
that  polygamy  is  already  rare  and  is  swiftly  dying 
out,  and  right  below  refers  to  the  ignorance  of  the 
people.  By  going  out  on  the  streets  in  Salt  Lake 
and  inquiring  of  any  intelligent  man,  he  could  have 
found  out  that  quite  one-fourth,  if  not  one-third,  of 
the  men  of  marriageable  age  in  Utah  are  polyga- 
mists ;  that  it  is  increasing  with  frightful  rapidity, 
and  that  it  is  the  one  essential  badge  of  promotion 
in  that  Government  which  he  thinks  other  States 
might  profitably  pattern  after."  In  the  same  way 
great  exception  has  been  taken  to  many  of  the  state 
ments  in  Phil  Robinson's  clever  Saints  and  Sinners  ; 
but  in  my  opinion  his  contention  that  "  Mormonism 
is  not  the  wind-and-rain  inflated  pumpkin  the  world 
at  a  distance  believes  it,"  can  not  be  honestly  contra 
dicted  ;  the  two  hundred  thousand  Mormons  in  Utah 
and  the  surrounding  States  are  held  together  by  the 
secret  oaths  of  an  organization  so  powerful  that  all 
the  efforts  of  the  United  States  Congress  have 
hitherto  failed  to  stamp  out  an  institution  full  of 
danger  to  the  well-being  of  the  entire  Republic.  For 
years  bills  have  been  before  Congress,  and  various 
methods  suggested  for  the  settlement  of  the  matter, 
and  the  feeling  is  gaining  ground  that  it  can  be  trifled 
with  no  longer. 

The  legal  assaults  on  the  system  hitherto  made 
have  been  compared  by  the  Rev.  H.  Ward  Beecher  to 
the  efforts  of  a  cat  to  eat  a  wasp.  "  She  darts  at  it, 
she  scrambles  at  it,  but  she  can't  chew  it  up,"  observes 
the  eccentric  divine. 


GOVERNOR    MURRAY.  2OI 

Accordingly  some  are  suggesting  "fire  and  sword." 
"  Thirty  days  of  Oliver  Cromwell,"  remarks  a  religious 
paper,  "  would  suffice  for  an  honorable  and  healthy 
ending  of  this  cancer  in  our  midst."  Governor  Mur 
ray,  however,  is  anxious  to  shield  the  State  he  controls 
from  such  a  calamity,  though  he  holds  that  the  present 
state  of  things  can  not  continue  ;  that  either  the  Gov 
ernment  must  repeal  its  laws,  or  find  some  way  to 
enforce  them.  "  I  do  not,  even  now,"  he  says,  "  advo 
cate  military  force.  I  believe  with  proper  legislation 
a  settlement  can  be  effected  peaceably  ;  but  if  that 
legislation  is  much  longer  withheld,  it  will  have  to  be 
effected  with  strife  and  bloodshed."  The  Edmunds 
Bill  was  evidently  intended  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
correction  of  the  evils  by  the  Mormons  themselves. 
It  was  also  hoped  that  the  Gentile  influence,  mission 
aries,  and  schools,  and  the  establishment  of  a  military 
post  in  Salt  Lake  City,  would  dispose  of  the  difficulty, 
but  they  have  hitherto  signally  failed  to  uproot  polyg 
amy.  The  railroad  which  was  completed  fifteen  years 
ago  was  said  to  be  "  the  beginning  of  the  regeneration 
of  Utah,"  and  the  dissension  within  the  camp  itself, 
led  by  William  S.  Godbe,  was  once  regarded  as  "  the 
thin  edge  of  the  wedge  "  which  would  lead  to  disunion 
and  confusion.  The  death  of  "  King  Brigham  "  was 
to  solve  the  problem,  but  unhappily  Mormonism  re 
mains  master  of  the  situation  to  this  very  hour. 

The  present  Government  of  Utah  may  well  be 
described  as  a  curious  anomaly,  with  a  Governor  ap 
pointed  by  Federal  authority,  anti-polygamic  and 
anti-hierarchical  in  his  opinions  ;  a  Legislature  every 
member  of  which,  though  monogamatic,  is  a  Mormon, 
bound  to  the  support  of  the  civil  power  of  the  hier- 
9* 


2O2  THREE    VISITS   TO    AMERICA. 

archy  and  polygamy  as  divinely  appointed  institutions  ; 
the  judges  of  the  local  courts  are  Mormons  and  county 
officers;  the  schools  are  taught  by  Mormons;  the 
municipal  corporations  are  under  the  control  of  the 
Mormon  Government,  with  the  settled  portions  of  the 
Territory  laid  off  into  districts,  and  organized  into 
municipal  governments  with  Mormons  as  the  officers, 
taking  in  large  tracts  of  land,  which  can  not  be  entered 
or  pre-empted  by  persons  not  Mormons  ;  in  fact,  the 
entire  machinery  for  the  local  government  of  the  Ter 
ritory  is  in  the  hands  of  Mormons,  dictated  to  by  the 
Church  ;  and  finally,  a  commission  authorized  by  Con 
gress  to  put  down  polygamy,  which  seems  to  have 
incurred  the  dislike  and  distrust  of  both  the  Gentile 
and  Mormon  inhabitants  of  the  Territory. 

Meanwhile  the  foes  of  Mormons  are  denounced  as 
"  carpet-baggers,"  "  wild-cat  speculators,"  and  "  Mor 
mon-eaters  ";  it  is  further  intimated  that  those  "who 
raised  the  anti-Mormon  cry  have  done  so  in  a  mad 
desire  to  possess  themselves  of  Mormon  wealth  ";  the 
"  moralists  who  go  into  virtuous  spasms  "  over  "the 
patriarchal  order  of  marriage  "  are  advised  to  remedy 
"  the  vile  and  wicked  social  practices  of  Christian  com 
munities."  "  Look  at  the  secret  combinations  and 
secret  societies,"  retort  the  saints  ;  "  look  at  the  strug 
gle  between  capital  and  labor,  the  lack  of  confidence 
in  men  of  position  !  Unless  the  rulers  and  statesmen 
rid  themselves  of  their  selfishness,  and  let  honor, 
truth,  and  justice  be  their  motto,  they  will  have  enough 
to  do  nearer  home  than  Utah."  Congress  itself  is 
warned  to  be  careful  how  it  denies  even  to  "  deluded 
people  "  the  right  of  self-government,  and  attempts 
the  branding  of  Mormon  children  as  illegitimate,  or 


ACTION    INEVITABLE.  2C>3 

ventures  to  hand  them  over  for  relief  to  the  sense 
of  equity  possessed  by  a  board  of  politicians.  A 
Gentile  American  advocate  of  the  let-alone  system  re 
marks,  "  that  while  the  religious  heretic  is  tolerated 
in  law,  the  social  heretic  is  persecuted,  and  the  Mormon 
problem  will  test  to  the  utmost  the  boasted  liberality 
of  America."  He  continues,  "  When  citizens  are  de 
prived  of  the  right  of  franchise  for  acts  of  which  those 
most  interested  do  not  complain,  but  indorse,  and 
which  involve  no  moral  criminality,  and  this  to  a  peo 
ple  upon  whose  moral  character  the  only  blot  is  in  the 
non-Mormon  portion,  we  strike  a  blow  at  the  American 
idea  of  liberty  and  toleration  that  might  well  arouse 
Thomas  Jefferson  from  his  tomb." 

President  Arthur's  message  to  Congress  treated  the 
matter  with  earnest  gravity.  "  I  am  convinced,"  he 
said,  "  that  polygamy  has  become  so  strongly  en 
trenched  in  the  Territory  of  Utah,  that  it  is  profitless 
to  attack  it  with  any  but  the  stoutest  weapons  which 
constitutional  legislation  can  make;  I  favor,  there 
fore,  the  repeal  of  the  Act  upon  which  the  existing 
Government  depends,  and  the  resumption  by  the  Na 
tional  Legislature  of  the  entire  political  control  of  the 
Territory,  and  the  establishment  of  a  commission." 
Consequently  Congress  has  shown  a  wise  inclination, 
in  spite  of  Senator  Brown,  of  Georgia,  to  pass  a  bill 
more  effective  than  the  recent  Edmunds  Commission, 
and  the  President's  recommendation  has  been  fully 
endorsed  by  the  press  and  the  people.  Clearly  the 
present  is  the  time  for  action ;  every  year  makes  the 
work  more  difficult  and  complicated,  and  the  suppres 
sion  of  polygamy  must  be  made  one  of  the  living  is 
sues  of  the  campaign  of  1884.  It  is  a  serious  enough 


2O4  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

matter  now,  but  in  a  few  years  it  will  certainly  entail 
actual  war,  and  loss  of  life  and  property.  There  are 
now  more  than  200,000  Mormons  in  Utah  and  the 
neighboring  States;  in  the  year  1880  it  is  authenti 
cally  stated  that  there  were  more  polygamous  mar 
riages  than  in  any  previous  year  since  the  settlement 
of  Utah,  which  directly  strengthens  their  "  political, 
spiritual,  social,  independent  despotism,"  and  also  in 
creases  the  number  of  wives  and  children  who  have 
to  be  considered  in  any  action  the  Government  may 
see  fit  to  take.  This  is  a  point  upon  which  hinges  a 
great  deal  of  the  hesitation  experienced  by  those  who 
shrink  from  bringing  upon  the  innocent  the  punish 
ment  and  sorrow  which  ought  in  common  justice  to 
fall  upon  the  Mormon  leaders,  elders,  and  bishops 
alone.  "  What  will  be  done  with  these  poor  victims 
if  deprived  of  the  protection  of  their  husbands  and 
fathers  ?  "  is  the  question  often  asked  by  the  tender 
hearted  outsider,  who  is  not  quite  familiar  with  the 
present  condition  of  the  "victims."  Mrs.  Paddick, 
the  authority  to  whom  I  have  already  alluded,  an 
swers  this  at  once  by  the  bold  assertion  that  "  polyg- 
amists  as  a  rule  do  not  support  their  families."  I  ex 
tract  from  her  work  the  following  remarkable  state 
ment  : 

"  The  masses  of  the  Mormon  people  are  poor,  and  the  constant 
drain  of  the  tithing  system  keeps  them  so  ;  yet  men  who  can  not 
support  one  family  in  comfort  are  continually  taking  more  wives. 
The  consequence  is,  that  none  of  their  numerous  families  have 
even  the  bare  necessaries  of  life,  unless  the  women  and  children 
earn  them.  Wealthy  Mormons  support  their  families  much  bet 
ter  than  they  did  before  the  anti-polygamists  in  Utah  began  their 
war  upon  the  system  ;  but  even  among  these  there  are  many  hus 
band,  who  think  they  are  doing  all  that  can  reasonably  be  ex- 


THE    FIRST    SETTLERS.  2O5 

pected  of  them,  if  they  provide  their  wives  with  shelter,  fuel,  and 
flour.  Not  long  ago  the  wife  of  a  wealthy  Mormon  complained 
to  the  bishop  of  her  ward  that  her  husband  did  not  support  her. 
'  Your  husband  gives  you  a  house  to  live  in,  does  he  not  ?  '  asked 
the  bishop.  '  Yes,'  was  the  reply.  '  Does  he  keep  you  well  sup 
plied  with  wood  and  flour?'  'Yes.'  'Then  I  think/  he  re 
sponded, 'he  is  a  very  good  provider,  and  you  ought  to  be 
ashamed  to  enter  a  complaint  against  him.'  From  such  deci 
sions  there  is  no  appeal,  inasmuch  as  the  law  does  not  give  either 
a  legal  or  plural  wife  any  claim  upon  the  property  or  earnings  of 
her  husband.  If  polygamy  were  abolished  to-day,  in  five  years 
the  women  of  the  poorer  classes  would  be  far  better  off  than  they 
are  now,  even  if  the  law  which  ended  their  polygamous  relations 
made  no  provision  for  them  ;  but  there  is  not  a  Gentile  in  Utah 
who  would  favor  a  bill  for  the  immediate  suppression  of  polyga 
my,  unless  there  was  a  clause  in  it  which  provided  some  means  of 
support  for  plural  wives  and  their  children." 

Joaquin  Miller  and  others  have  argued  that  the 
Mormons,  having  made  "  the  wilderness  to  blossom 
like  the  rose/'  have  a  right  to  remain  undisturbed  ; 
"  a  man  who  has  planted  a  tree  and  dug  a  well  in 
the  desert  has  done  more  good  than  an  army  with 
banners."  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  maintained  the 
pretence  of  reclaiming  the  alkali  soil  and  subduing 
the  Indians  is  groundless.  Mr.  M'Bride,  a  Salt  Lake 
barrister,  wrote  in  the  Tribune  published  in  that  city 
his  experience  as  one  of  the  oldest  pioneers  in  that 
district,  in  which  it  is  stated  that  "  there  were  stretches 
of  miles  upon  miles  of  meadow-land,  where  even  irri 
gation  was  not  needed,  when  the  saints  came  into  the 
valley ;  all  that  was  needed  was  ordinary  industry, 
and  that  the  lands,  in  the  early  settlement  of  Utah, 
were  more  easily  brought  to  bear  fruitful  returns  than 
the  ordinary  wild  lands  of  the  Western  States.  All 
this  talk  and  sentiment  about  the  hardships  of  pio 
neering  in  Utah  are  pure  fustian." 


206  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  industry  deserves  its  recognition 
and  reward,  and  the  Mormons  are  fully  entitled  to  all 
the  credit  due  to  perseverance,  endurance,  and  self- 
denial.  They  have  reduced  the  principle  of  co-opera 
tion  from  the  religious  duty,  as  taught  by  Brigham 
Young,  to  a  voluntary  and  profitable  system,  and  are 
carrying  it  out,  after  fourteen  years'  experience,  on  a 
grander  scale  than  I  have  seen  it  anywhere  else  in  the 
world.  If  you  separate  "the  people"  from  the  lead 
ers,  they  are,  in  my  opinion,  "  the  honest,  kind-hearted, 
simple  men  and  women  "  that  Phil  Robinson,  in  his 
Saints  and  Sinners,  represents  them — "  patterns  in 
commercial  honesty,  religious  earnestness  and  social 
charity." 

Mrs.  Barrett  Browning  tells  us  "  we  get  no  good  by 
being  ungenerous  even  to  a  book,"  and  we  certainly 
shall  gain  no  worthy  end  by  ignoring  the  good  points 
of  this  "peculiar  people,"  who  belong  to  the  most 
credulous,  illiterate  classes  of  the  countries  from 
which  they  are  drawn,  and  possess  a  deeply-rooted 
love  of  the  miraculous  and  mysterious,  and  are  there 
fore  easily  duped  by  those  who  represent  that  heaven 
will  be  best  secured  by  tithe-paying  and  living  after 
the  manner  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  the  saints  of  old, 
on  the  banks  of  the  new  Jordan,  in  the  Zion  of  the 
"  Latter-Day  Saints."  Nor  do  I  think  the  full  and 
free  acknowledgment  of  the  amendment  in  the  physi 
cal  and  temporal  well-being  of  these  emigrants  should 
be  withheld.  One  of  the  poorer  Mormons  I  talked 
to  was  once  a  messenger  in  a  publishing  house  in 
Paternoster  Row,  and  as  he  frankly  said  to  me,  "  Had 
I  remained  there,  I  should  probably  be  a  messenger 
still ;  now  I  am  a  jobbing  carpenter,  and  own  my  own 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    HOSTILITY.  207 

house  and  bit  of  garden."  Thrift  is  a  lesson  well 
taught  in  the  Mormon  school ;  and  it  must  be  allowed, 
as  far  as  temporal  matters  are  concerned,  the  half- 
starved  proselytes  obtained  in  the  Old  World  have  a 
chance  given  them  out  here  which  would  never  have 
come  to  them  at  home.  They  have  been  hurried 
across  the  continent  to  Utah,  and  know  nothing  of 
the  country  they  have  come  to,  save  what  their  spir 
itual  pastors  and  masters  choose  to  tell  them. 

These  leaders — who,  by  the  way,  have  been  de 
scribed  by  the  erratic  defender  of  Mormon  liberty, 
Joaquin  Miller,  as  "  Guiteaus  " — encourage  a  spirit  of 
hostility  to  the  United  States  Government,  misrep 
resent  the  American  nation,  its  civilization,  actions, 
and  aims,  and,  as  far  as  they  can,  are  evidently  deter 
mined  to  act  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  displayed 
by  the  pioneer  who,  as  he  crossed  the  Missouri,  cursed 
"  the  East "  which  he  and  his  followers  had  left  for 
ever,  resolving  to  set  up  in  the  West  "a  kingdom 
that  should  break  in  pieces  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth."  The  Mormon  denomination  now  is  all-powerful 
under  the  existing  Territorial  system  of  government. 
The  United  States  Government  pays  the  bills,  but  is 
only  a  secondary  power  in  Utah,  and  the  very  iso 
lation  of  the  Territory  has  enabled  the  Church  to 
prevent  a  sufficient  practical  investigation  of  its 
practices.  No  commission  will  be  available  unless 
composed  of  residents  in  Utah,  who  thoroughly 
understand  the  position  of  affairs,  and  are  able  to 
follow  up  and  secure  the  punishment  of  the  crimes 
perpetrated  in  the  name  of  religion  against  the  laws 
of  the  land.  As  Senator  Cullom  informed  Congress 
last  January,  "  It  is  worse  than  folly  to  tinker  with 


2O8  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

this  matter  from  year  to  year,  and  at  the  same  time 
leave  the  whole  legal  power  of  the  Territory  in  the 
hands  of  men  who  are  defiantly  violating  national 
law." 

It  is  impossible  not  to  recognize  the  fact  that  hith 
erto  the  Government  has  utterly  failed  to  deal  with 
this  outrage  of  its  laws,  and  the  rectifying  influences 
of  moral  and  intellectual  forces  have  had  but  little 
effect.  .  No  one  can  hate  more  than  I  do  the  employ 
ment  of  force  and  law  against  mistaken  beliefs  in 
religion  and  politics  ;  but  polygamy,  as  practiced  in 
Utah,  is  such  a  crime  against  nature,  involving  such 
terrible  degradation,  that  those  who  have  the  interests 
of  women  at  heart  can  never  rest  satisfied  until  they 
are  freed  from  the  worst  form  of  slavery  the  heart  of 
man  ever  yet  invented,  and  justified  on  biblical  and 
religious  grounds. 

In  the  present  day  most  men  find  it  difficult  to 
maintain  one  fashionably-dressed  wife,  therefore  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  support  of  half  a  dozen 
under  such  circumstances  would  prove  impossible. 
Consequently,  it  has  been  jestingly  proposed  by  those 
who  believe  that  Mormon  husbands  "  pay  for  every 
thing,"  that  the  army  of  French  milliners  recently 
ejected  from  Constantinople  should  be  despatched  to 
Utah,  as  most  likely  to  break  the  bonds  of  polygamy 
asunder.  But  Mormon  ingenuity  might  even  dis 
cover  some  means  for  checkmating  the  French  milli 
ners.  Anyhow,  Brigham  Young  circumvented  poor 
Mrs.  Stenhouse,  who  told  me  that,  partly  for  employ 
ment  and  partly  for  self-support,  she  started  a  little 
business  in  this  direction  in  Salt  Lake  City.  A  bon 
net  was  ordered  for  Brigham's  favorite  wife  ;  subse- 


APOSTLE    TEASDALE.  .       2OQ 

quently  Mrs.  Stenhouse  received  an  order  to  make 
bonnets  for  all  his  wives,  and  gloves,  ribbons,  and 
laces  were  supplied  in  addition.  The  bill  amounted 
to  275  dollars ;  but  when  it  was  presented,  the  poor 
woman  found  the  wily  prophet  had  ordered  "  that  the 
amount  should  be  credited  against  her/<?r  tithing." 

The  matter,  however,  is  too  serious,  and  involves 
too  many  grave  interests,  to  admit  of  being  for  a 
moment  treated  from  a  jesting  point  of  view ;  and  I 
confess  that  the  extirpation  of  polygamy  by  brute 
force  is  to  me  equally  repugnant.  The  British 
Government  certainly  found  it  impossible  to  crush 
the  crime  of  infanticide  in  India  without  military 
measures ;  the  Abolitionists  in  America  vainly  com 
bated  by  other  means,  for  two  generations,  the  in 
stitution  of  slavery,  and  at  last  moral  forces  had  to 
be  supplemented  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  law.  It 
would  almost  seem  that  the  legislative  opportunity 
now  open  is  Utah's  last  chance  to  initiate  peaceable 
reforms  from  within.  The  law  of  the  United  States 
can  not  be  much  longer  defied  with  safety.  I  fancy 
this  is  almost  acknowledged  within  the  citadel  itself,  for 
Bishop  Sharp,  whom  I  met  while  in  Salt  Lake  City,  on 
his  return  from  Washington,  observed,  "  No  power  but 
the  Almighty  can  save  the  Mormon  people ;  if  God 
does  not  pilot  the  ship  it  will  go  down."  Not  that 
the  Latter-Day  Saints  themselves  are  ready  to  "  go 
back  "  on  their  so-called  principles  :  Apostle  George 
Teasdale,  who  may  be  taken  as  a  representative 
speaker,  in  a  recent  address  at  the  Assembly  Hall, 
"  bore  testimony  "  to  his  unshaken  faith  in  the  tenets 
of  the  one  true  religion  revealed  by  the  angel  at 
Noroni,  and  to  "  the  priesthood  which  was  then  es- 


2  TO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

tablished  upon  earth."  He  continued :  "  Have  we 
any  occasion  to  fear  the  people  or  nations?  No!  I 
don't  go  back  on  one  principle  of  the  revelations.  I 
believe  in  the  doctrine  of  plural  marriage  as  much  as 
I  do  in  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins.  I  would 
not  give  up  one  of  the  principles  of  this  gospel.  I  do 
not  fear  the  face  of  man  as  I  fear  the  face  of  God.  I 
should  fear  to  go  behind  the  veil  and  meet  those  who 
would  know  that  I  had  given  up  any  of  the  principles 
of  eternal  truth.  I  bear  my  testimony  that  plural 
marriage  is  a  necessity,  and  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  the  Latter-Day  Saints  can  not  exist  without  it.  It 
is  one  of  the  marks  of  this  Church." 

It  is  impossible  for  the  United  States  Government 
to  delay  the  settlement  of  this  question,  and  escape 
from  the  charge  of  willful  neglect  and  incapacity ;  it 
may  also  expect  considerable  outside  pressure  if  it 
does  not  deal  with  the  problem  quickly,  and  in  a 
thoroughly  practical  way.  The  majesty  of  the  law 
can  alone  be  vindicated  by  a  well-aimed  blow  at  the 
power  of  the  Mormon  chiefs.  Polygamy  must  be 
suppressed  by  unflinching  enforcements,  unless  the 
nation  is  willing  to  let  it  spread  and  flourish  for  ever 
over  the  western  portion  of  America. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

American  hotel  despotism  ;  hours  for  meals — The  journey  across 
the  desert  from  Ogden — The  disappearance  of  the  Indians 
and  buffaloes  from  the  railroad  tracts — The  flight  of  ante 
lopes — The  Sierra-Nevada  mountains — San  Francisco — Pal 
ace  Hotel — Bell-boys  and  hotel  servants  generally — China 
town  in  its  New-Year  garb  —  Cable-cars  —  Drives  to  the 
Cliff  House  through  the  park  and  to  the  Presidio — Wooden 
houses — Fires  and  the  Fire  Brigade — Dr.  Hardy's  Foundling 
Hospital  on  Golden  Gate  Avenue. 

THERE  is  no  despotism  more  thorough  than  that  of 
an  American  Hotel.  Breakfast,  luncheon,  dinner, 
and  supper  are  served  between  fixed  hours,  and 
neither  love  nor  money  will  obtain  anything  to  eat 
save  at  those  fixed  periods.  The  unhappy  traveller 
who  arrives  after  the  supper-room  is  closed  must  go 
to  bed  fasting  ;  and  still  worse  is  the  plight  of  those 
who  leave  before  the  breakfast  hour,  for  sleep  may 
relieve  the  sufferings  of  the  former,  but  what  is  to 
become  of  those  who  start  on  a  long  journey  fast 
ing?  The  fact  is  that  the  cooks,  and  most  of  the 
waiters,  in  American  hotels  only  come  into  the  house 
at  specified  times  for  their  appointed  duties.  The 
key  is  turned  on  the  larder  and  store  closet,  and  food 
can  not  possibly  be  had  till  the  return  of  the  man  in 
possession.  The  English  custom  of  having  meals 
when  they  are  required,  is  utterly  unknown  and  un 
dreamt  of  in  their  philosophy.  Not  even  a  cup  of 
coffee  could  we  obtain  before  we  left  the  Continental 

(211) 


212  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Hotel  at  Salt  Lake  City  to  catch  the  early  express 
passing  through  Ogden,  and  but  for  my  skilful  com 
panion's  spirit  lamp,  which  enables  her  to  furnish  a 
cup  of  tea  "  on  the  cars,"  together  with  a  luncheon 
basket  kindly  provided  for  us  by  the  wife  of  the  Eng 
lish  banker,  we  should  have  perished  by  the  way ! 
We  were  told  that  we  should  have  at  least  an  hour 
for  breakfast  at  Ogden,  but  our  train  was  late,  and 
there  was  barely  time  to  secure  our  tickets  and  catch 
the  San  Francisco  express. 

Our  journey  for  the  first  day  was  dull  enough  : 
vast  deserts  of  sand  had  to  be  crossed,  but  toward 
nightfall  a  heavy  snow  was  encountered,  and  droves 
of  antelopes  came  flying  down  in  such,  numbers  from 
the  mountains  that  whi  e  they  crossed  the  track  the 
train  was  obliged  to  come  to  a  full  stop. 

A  few  Indians,  here  and  there,  en  route  had  been 
visible  at  the  smaller  depots,  besmeared  with  yellow 
ochre,  and  dressed  in  red  blankets,  their  untidy 
squaws  ornamented  like  themselves  with  cheap  jewel 
ry,  all  of  them  ready  to  beg  for  a  ten-cent  piece  or 
tobacco,  but  showing  no  trace  whatever  of  the  war 
like  red  man  of  romantic  story.  The  most  character 
istic  Indians  I  ever  saw  during  my  three  tours  in 
America  were  at  the  Indian  delegation  at  Philadelphia. 
J^one  Wolf,  Doghater,  Milkyway,  Chewing  Elk,  Gray 
Eagle,  Heap  o'  Bears,  Yellow  Horse,  and  Yar-Lou- 
Pee,  were  introduced  to  me  in  the  charge  of  Captain 
Alvord.  They  were  accompanied  by  their  interpre 
ters  and  squaws,  an4  when  presented  with  flowers, 
passed  t})em,  to  my  amusement,  with  every  sign  of 
contempt,  to  the  ladies.  But  the  Indians  of  the 
plains  are  almost  myths  as  far  as  the  railroad  vision 


THE    SIERRA-NEVADA    MOUNTAINS.  213 

extends,  though  there  are  several  Indian  reservations 
in  the  interior.  Winnemucca,  near  Paradise  Valley, 
is  so  named  after  the  chief  of  the  Piute  tribe,  who  is 
now  about  seventy-eight  years  old,  and  much  re 
spected  by  his  followers. 

In  these  degenerate  prosaic  days  no  particular 
excitements  are  afforded  the  railroad  traveller.  The 
Piute  and  the  Shoshone,  like  the  poet's  "  rolling  seas 
of  shaggy  humpbacked  buffaloes,"  who  break  like 
thunder  against  the  foothills,  are  things  of  the  past  as 
far  as  he  is  concerned.  A  train  is  still  sometimes 
attacked  by  bandits — especially  on  the  southern  road 
— if  there  is  known  to  be  a  sufficient  prize  on  board  ; 
but  otherwise  the  Pacific  tourist,  as  a  rule,  now  trav 
els  as  calmly  across  those  vast  stretches  of  desert  as 
the  London  cockney  does  from  Shoreditch  to  Bow, 
at  least  as  regards  the  dread  of  any  human  violence. 

The  unmanned  tempest  that  rides  and  reigns  in 
these  regions  is  the  Conqueror,  however,  before  whose 
sway  man  will  be  forever  powerless,  even  v/hen  aided 
by  Nature's  greatest  discovered  force.  The  wild 
winds  of  heaven  have  blown  trains  from  the  track  ere 
now  ;  and  when  the  snow  descends,  as  American  snow 
is  wont  to  descend — five  feet  of  snow  in  the  Sierra- 
Nevada  mountains  sometimes  fall  in  a  day — engines 
are  rendered  powerless,  the  cars  are  frozen  to  the 
rails,  and  hopelessly  imbedded  in  the  drifts.  Pas 
sengers  have  sometimes  been  thus  imprisoned  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  finally  had  to  make  their 
escape  on  foot  to  a  "  rescue  train  "  half  a  mile  the 
other  side  of  the  snow-drift. 

Some  such  fate  seemed  likely  to  befall  me  during 
this  journey  to  Sari  Francisco,  for  it  soon  became  evi- 


214  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

dent  that  there  was  bad  weather  ahead,  and  by  the 
time  we  began  the  ascent  of  the  Sierra-Nevada  moun 
tains  it  was  all  the  train  could  do  to  make  its  way 
through  the  heaviest  fall  of  the  season.  At  Truckee 
we  reached  the  summit  of  the  range,  after  passing 
through  a  snow-shed  thirty  miles  long,  where  a  con 
siderable  loss  of  time  occurred.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  beauty  of  the  falling  snow,  and  the  amazing  size 
of  the  flakes  as  they  curled  through  the  air,  and  shut 
out  the  sight  of  the  pines  on  the  mountain  sides. 
The  solemn  stillness  of  those  vast  voiceless  plains 
made  me  realize  I  had  indeed  entered  "a  wide  do 
main  of  mysteries."  Its  awful  solitude  strikes  you 
even  when  in  a  weather-bound  train  full  of  passengers 
eager  to  reach  the  busy  turmoil  of  the  city  life  so  far 
beyond.  Truckee  is  about  200  miles  from  San  Fran 
cisco,  and  the  snow-sheds,  essential  to  winter  travel, 
are  chiefly  between  Strong  Cannon  Station  and  Emi 
grant  Gap,  costing  from  8,000  dollars  to  30,000  per 
mile,  and  shutting  out  of  sight  some  of  the  most 
exquisite  scenery  near  Donner  Lake.  The  traveller 
has  to  be  content  with  glimpses  which  only  make  him, 
like  Oliver,  "  ask  for  more,"  and  but  for  the  attention 
of  the  Pullman  conductor,  who  warned  me  when  we 
were  approaching  the  "  observation  holes,"  I  should 
have  lost  even  these  peeps  at  the  natural  beauties 
concealed  within  the  Sierras. 

A  marvellous  change  awaited  us  on  the  other  side 
of  the  "  Blue  Canyon."  We  simply  passed  from  win 
ter  into  summer  weather,  from  the  dazzling  white 
snow  to  the  greenest  verdure  I  ever  saw.  No  trans 
formation  scene  in  any  theatre  could  be  more  com 
plete  or  rapid,  and  I  realized  that  I  was  really  in  the 


SACRAMENTO.  ,215 

enchanted  land  of  California.  On  sped  the  train 
through  picturesque  valleys,  green  with  luxuriant 
foliage,  striking  below  Atta,  the  slope  of  Bear  River, 
and  winding  through  the  hills  till  Cape  Horn  was 
reached.  Here  the  very  railroad  itself  edges  the  pre 
cipitous  bluff  nearly  2,000  feet  above  the  river.  The 
wondrous  chasm  is  almost  too  fearful  for  contempla 
tion  in  this  position.  No  train  passes  without  paying 
its  tribute  to  this  stupendous  gorge.  It  comes  to  a 
reverent  standstill  while  the  passengers,  awe-stricken 
and  breathless,  gaze  into  the  depths  of  that  marvel 
lous  ravine.  Except  at  Giant's  Gap  there  is  no  rail 
road  view  to  surpass  this.  The  mining  town  beyond, 
and  the  houses  and  fields  across  the  river,  were  like 
mere  playthings  in  the  vast  distance. 

Then  mining  camps  were  passed,  known  by  the  up 
turned  earth,  with  its  rich  red  soil  hinting  at  the  pre 
cious  ore  within.  Most  singular  are  the -names  given 
by  the  miners  to  their  "diggings": — Red  Dog,  You 
Bet,  Jackass  Gulch,  Brandy  Flat,  Gospel  Swamp,  Slap 
Jack,  Grizzly  Flat,  and  Poverty  Hill,  may  be  given 
as  specimens  of  their  owners'  humor!  Gold  Run  has 
now  become  quite  a  little  town,  and  at  Dutch  Flat 
there  are  three  separate  mining  companies,  and  the 
best  hydraulic  mining  in  California. 

When  Sacramento  is  announced,  the  long  journey 
seems  drawing  to  a  close.  This  is  a  place  full  of 
pleasant  houses,  where  oranges,  limes,  and  fig-trees 
flourish  in  all  the  luxuriance  of  semi-tropical  vege 
tation.  Our  train  crossed  the  river  on  a  drawbridge, 
and  we  passed  into  a  marshy  district,  where  mallard 
and  canvas-back  ducks  disported  themselves  by  the 
side  of  the  water,  heedless  of  our  intrusion  through 


2l6  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

their  peaceful  domains.  At  last,  long  after  the  shades 
of  evening  had  closed  around  us,  our  train  steamed 
into  Oakland.  We  had  still  the  bay  to  cross  before 
reaching  San  Francisco,  and  this  last  six  miles  of  the 
journey  introduced  me  to  the  magnificent  ferry-boats 
used  in  this  region  of  the  world. 

Considering  that  "  the  glorious  climate  of  Califor 
nia"  has  been  extolled  wherever  the  English  Ian. 
guage  is  spoken,  the  reception  accorded  by  the  weather 
certainly  astonished  me.  I  have  seen  a  good  deal 
of  rain  in  England,  I  know  something  of  the  Scotch 
climate,  but  never  did  I  encounter  such  a  downpour 
of  heavy  persistent  rain  as  the  first  night  I  spent  in 
San  Francisco.  Fortunately  my  umbrella  is  my  con 
stant  companion,  as  it  answers  the  purposes  of  a 
walking-stick,  and  it  certainly  never  had  such  a 
thorough  drenching  as  it  received  during  my  exit 
from  the  luxurious  saloon  through  the  uncovered 
way  to  the  landing-stage. 

It  was  past  nine  o'clock  before  I  secured  the  shelter 
of  the  Palace  Hotel.  There  I  found  a  deputation  of 
leading  citizens  awaiting  me  with  a  hearty  welcome, 
and  from  that  hour,  till  I  reluctantly  bid  farewell  to 
the  city,  kind  friends  were  at  hand  to  offer  every 
possible  hospitality  and  escort  to  the  different  places 
of  interest  in  the  city. 

The  Palace  Hotel  reminded  me  of  the  Louvre 
and  the  Grand  Hotel  in  Paris,  having  a  vast  court 
yard,  round  which  the  750  rooms  are  built,  the  whole 
occupying  two  acres  and  a  half  of  land.  When  all 
the  six  galleries  are  lighted  up  at  night,  and  the  band 
is  discoursing  sweet  music  in  the  courtyard  below, 
while  the  gaily  dressed  ladies  walk  about  the  twelve- 


SLOW    MAIL    DELIVERY.  2  I  7 

feet  wide  corridors  belonging  to  each  story,  the  effect 
is  very  striking. 

The  attendance  is  the  difficulty  which  remains  to  be 
solved  in  these  monster  hotels  ;  residents  everywhere 
complain  bitterly  of  the  time  they  have  to  wait  be 
tween  sending  up  their  card  to  friends  and  being  admit 
ted  to  their  sitting-rooms.  And  woe  betide  the  un 
wary  "  guests  "  who  do  not  see  their  letters  safely  de 
posited  in  the  office  mail  box.  Being  of  a  naturally 
submissive  temperament,  I  always  bowed  to  the  Ameri 
can  rule  which  even  excludes  ladies  from  going  to 
the  office  when  bills  have  to  be  paid,  and  I  accord 
ingly  confided  my  letters  and  newspapers  to  the  negro 
gentleman  told  off  to  answer  my  "  parlor"  bell,  until 
I  discovered  that  they  sometimes  reposed  for  days  in 
the  darky's  pocket,  and  reached  their  destination  too 
late  to  be  of  any  use.  For  instance,  the  letters  writ 
ten  to  Los  Angeles  from  the  Palace  Hotel,  arrived 
there  a  week  late,  two  hours  after  I  had  reached  Mrs. 
Severance's  house,  though  I  did  not  leave  San  Fran 
cisco  till  the  middle  of  the  week,  and  made  a  halt  at 
Fresno  on  the  road.  And  yet  a  staff  of  about  150 
servants  is  kept  at  the  Palace  Hotel.  When  I  first 
visited  America  I  was  warned  not  to  offer  "  tips  "  to 
the  servants  in  the  hotels  or  private  houses.  The  free- 
born  claimant  to  perfect  equality  would  scorn  such  a 
douceur  and  regard  it  as  an  insult.  But  times  have 
greatly  changed,  and  with  increasing  civilization  has 
disappeared  all  antipathy  to  gratuities.  A  "  tip  "  is 
now  quite  as  powerful  and  necessary  an  incentive  on 
the  one  side  of  the  Atlantic  as  the  other,  and  the  trav 
eller  who  expects  to  be  comfortable  in  an  American 
hotel  without  a  free  distribution  of  dollars  will  soon 
10 


2l8  THREE    VISITS    TO    AiMERICA. 

be  disenchanted.  As  the  division  of  labor  is  much 
greater  in  that  country  than  at  home,  the  inroad  into 
one's  purse  is  pretty  considerable.  For  instance,  in 
most  hotels  four  bell-boys  reign  in  each  corridor;  on 
their  sovereign  will  depends  the  kind  of  service  you 
receive ;  when  it  is  also  borne  in  mind  that  these  gen 
tlemen  answer  your  bell  and  receive  your  commands, 
simply  to  direct  some  other  individual  to  fulfil  them, 
it  will  be  understood  how  completely  your  comfort  is 
in  the  hands  of  these  functionaries.  Boy  nature  is 
much  the  same  all  over  the  world,  and  I  can  positive 
ly  affirm  that  the  alacrity  of  the  Yankee  specimen  of 
the  genus  depends  entirely  upon  his  confidence  of  a 
weekly  stipend,  or  the  certainty  of  hearing  the  magic 
words  "  keep  the  change  "  whenever  you  give  him  a 
dime  for  a  two-cent  newspaper.  Then  there  is  the 
head  porter,  the  baggage  man,  chamber-maid,  the  fire 
man,  the  waiter  in  the  breakfast-room,  another  at  din 
ner,  the  man  in  the  elevator,  and  above  all  the  gentle 
man  who  presides  at  meals,  and  places  you  at  any 
table  he  pleases,  and  remorselessly  excludes  you  from 
the  room  if  you  are  late  for  breakfast,  unless  the  cer 
tainty  that  a  dollar  will  occasionally  be  transferred 
from  your  pocket  into  his  own,  leads  to  a  liberal  in 
terpretation  of  the  precise  moment  for  closing  the 
door.  Although  dwellers  in  American  hotels  are 
styled  "  guests,"  they  are  furnished  with  tolerably 
heavy  weekly  bills,  which  are  slipped  under  the  bed 
room  door  about  five  o'clock  every  Monday  morning, 
and  with  the  said  fees  make  a  heavy  item  in  tjie  ac 
count-book  of  the  traveller  who  appreciates  prompt 
attention  and  courtesy. 

I  was  much  amused  at  an  interview  between  a  friend 


BELL-BOYS.  2IQ 

of  mine  and  a  bell-boy  in  a  Cincinnati  hotel.  The  boy 
lingered  about  the  room,  but  finding  h?  did  not  at 
tract  the  young  Englishman's  attention,  observed : 
"  I  am  the  boy  that  bought  your  tooth-brush."  (Si 
lence  on  the  part  of  the  "  guest.") 

"  If  it  had  been  known  I  had  gone  out  to  get  your 
tooth-brush,  I  should  have  been  discharged,"  plain 
tively  continues  the  "  untipped  "  messenger.  (Still 
no  reply.) 

"  It  is  not  my  business  to  get  your  coals,  and  the 
fireman  has  gone  off  for  the  night,  but  if  you  want 
any,  I  will  get  some  to  oblige  you."  (Pause.)  "The 
gentleman  in  twenty-seven  gave  the  boy  who  fetched 
his  yesterday  half  a  dollar,"  irrelevantly  remarks  the 
boy. 

At  last  rendered  desperate  and  driven  to  bay  by 
the  silence  preserved  by  the  apparently  imperturbable 
Briton,  who  was  in  reality  thoroughly  amused  and 
determined  to  have  the  end  of  the  comedy,  the  boy 
exclaimed  :  "  What  are  you  going  to  give  me  for  get 
ting  your  tooth-brush  ?  " 

Washing  is  another  serious  expenditure,  and  the 
first  bill  gives  the  English  tourist  a  "  genuine  scare." 
The  prices  charged  threw  a  new  light  upon  the  ab 
sence  of  linen  collars  and  cuffs,  and  the  substitution 
of  black  lace  in  the  ordinary  American  lady's  cos 
tume.  Notices  are  placed  in  the  bedrooms  that  "  no 
washing  is  to  be  done  in  the  room,  and  no  washer 
women  are  allowed  to  call  at  the  hotels."  You  are 
delivered  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  laundry 
attached  to  the  hotel ;  the  prices  vary  in  each  except 
in  being  uniformly  extortionate.  In  some  of  these 
laundries  the  linen  is  returned  with  your  full  name 


22O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

carefully  written  on  the  various  articles  in  marking 
ink.  Once  I  was  much  the  gainer  for  this  singular 
practice,  though  it  generally  happens  that  your  name 
is  placed  where  you  least  like  to  see  it.  My  friend's 
washing  had  been  enclosed  in  mine,  and  when  it  was 
returned,  to  her  indignation  it  bore  in  large,  conspic 
uous  letters,  in  most  indelible  marking  ink,  my  full 
name  beside  her  modest  initials.  Accordingly  she 
presented  me  with  a  very  handsome  set  of  pocket 
handkerchiefs,  which  she  naturally  objected  to  use 
under  the  circumstances,  though  she  endured  the 
ignominy  of -apparently  wearing  my  property  where 
the  obnoxious  mark  was  on  articles  well  concealed 
from  view.  From  twelve  to  fifteen  shillings  was  the 
average  of  our  weekly  expenditure  for  these  washing 
privileges  while  sojourning  in  American  hotels,  which, 
according  to  English  prices,  is  certainly  a  high  enough 
charge  for  two  ladies  who  never  wore  white  petti 
coats  or  washing  dresses. 

I  arrived  in  San  Francisco  just  in  time  to  visit  the 
Chinese  quarter  during  the  New  Year  festivities  of 
the  "  Celestials."  Strange  indeed  to  English  eyes 
were  the  mottoes  and  devices  painted  on  the  sign 
boards  of  the  various  stores — "  Hop  Wo,"  "  Tin  Yuk," 
"Hang  Hi,"  "Chung  Sun,"  "Shan  Tong."  The 
Chinese  doctors  hang  out  boards,  on  one  of  which  we 
found  "  Yeang  Tsz  Zing  feels  the  pulse  and  heals  the 
most  difficult  and  unheard-of  diseases."  Wholesale 
dealers  in  opium  hang  out  red  cards  with  appropri 
ate  scrolls  ;  the  "  Fan  Tan  "  saloons  have  their  in- 
signias,  such  as  "  Get  rich  and  please  come  in,"  tempt 
ing  the  passer  to  try  his  luck  at  the  game  of  chance. 
We  visited  several  of  the  stores  belonging  to  the  lead- 


CHINA-TOWN.  221 

ing  merchants,  and  found  them  clad  in  long  robes 
and  silken  trousers.  They  receive  visitors  with  the 
salutation,  "  Kong  hi  fat  choy,"  an  equivalent  to  our 
"  Happy  New  Year."  Then  we  went  to  the  Josh 
Houses  or  temples,  which  contained  some  fine  speci 
mens  of  carving,  embroidery,  and  bronzes,  and  such 
extraordinary  idols,  before  whom  are  spread  roasted 
pig  and  chicken,  with  sweetmeats  and  cups  of  tea, 
while  lamps  burn  in  the  midst.  The  air  is  full  of  the 
smell  of  the  incense  from  sandal-wood,  mingled  with 
the  fumes  of  opium  pipes.  Worship  takes  place  at 
no  set  time  ;  the  Chinaman  performs  his  devotions  at 
his  own  bidding,  except  on  the  birthday  of  the  gods. 
So  you  see  in  the  temples  the  strange  spectacle  of 
one  man  apparently  muttering  prayers  before  some 
ugly-looking  idol,  another  is  consulting  the  Josh  by 
balancing  bamboo  splints,  and  a  third  is  prostrating 
himself  on  the  ground  before  a  tinsel  image.  Kwan 
Tai  seems  the  favorite  deity,  and  is  adorned  with  a 
long  black  beard  and  a  very  red  face.  Wall  Tah  is 
the  god  of  medicine,  and  holds  a  coated  pill  in  his 
hand,  while  Tsoi  Pak  Shing  Kwun  is  the  god  of 
wealth,  and  appropriately  wields  a  bar  of  bullion. 
On  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  the  month  the  married 
women  pay  spectal  devotion  to  the  goddess  of  mercy, 
wrhom  they  hold  in  great  veneration.  There  is  hap 
pily  much  missionary  work  now  going  on  in  this  city  ; 
churches  and  schools  have  been  opened  specially  for 
the  Chinese,  and  I  was  invited  to  a  home  where  Chi 
nese  women  are  taught  sewing  and  useful  occupations 
by  ladies  who  endeavor  at  the  same  time  to  redeem 
them  from  paganism. 

In  the  evening  during  these  New  Year  carousals, 


222  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

China-town  presented  a  very  gay  appearance,  being 
illuminated  with  Chinese  lanterns.  We  were  nearly  suf 
focated  with  the  fire-crackers  which  were  exploded 
on  all  sides  in  such  a  wholesale  manner  that  I  ex 
pected  the  city  itself  would  be  on  fire.  But  the 
strangest  sight  of  all  is  the  Chinese  theatre.  The 
plays  take  about  three  weeks  in  representation ;  the 
discordant  orchestra  is  ensconced  in  an  alcove  at  the 
back  of  the  stage  ;  there  is  "  no  curtain/'  no  scenery, 
no  female  performers,  and  if  an  actor  is  slain  he  lies 
on  the  floor  for  a  minute,  and  then  gets  up  and  walks 
away.  The  acrobatic  feats,  which  are  introduced  on 
every  possible  occasion,  are  simply  marvellous.  No 
wonder  that  one  of  the  Girards  gained  his  inspiration 
from  this  source.  The  costumes  are  gorgeous  and 
grotesque  in  the  extreme,  and  a  very  short  stay  at 
this  peculiar  entertainment  is  quite  sufficient  for  the 
most  stage-struck  English  playgoer.  The  Chinaman, 
like  the  Mormon,  indulges  in  polygamy,  and  the 
"  small  feet "  wives  are  never  seen  on  the  streets. 
Champagne  and  choice  confections  are  pressed  on 
the  visitors  at  this  season,  and  the  festivities  are  kept 
up  for  several  days,  during  which  time  business  is 
quite  suspended. 

For  the  most  part  it  must  be  confessed  that  China 
town  is  a  filthy  place,  and  yet,  singular  to  relate,  the 
Chinese,  as  a  rule,  are  very  clean  in  their  own  per 
sons.  I  have  seen  the  bedroom  of  a  Chinese  cook  in 
a  friend's  house,  which  was  not  only  scrupulously 
well  kept,  but  daintily  decorated  with  flowers.  The 
bed  was  white  as  snow,  and  though  the  room  was  only 
the  size  of  an  ordinary  steamer  cabin,  it  was  screened 
off  by  a  colored  curtain,  his  absolutely  clean  change 


SAN    FRANCISCO    CABLE    CARS.  223 

of  raiment  hung  on  a  peg;  beside  this,  on  the  table 
was  a  vase  of  lilies,  and  not  a  speck  of  dust  could  be 
detected  anywhere.  The  "  hoodlums  " — the  name  for 
the  California  gamin — chase  and  ridicule  these  poor 
half-shaved,  almond-eyed  "  celestials,"  with  their  inex 
pressive  faces,  queer  pigtails,  brown  skin,  jet-black 
hair,  clad  in  loose  garments  and  wooden  shoes,  and 
with  pantaloons  made  tight  to  the  ankle  with  white 
bandages.  If  they  were  new  importations  into  the 
country  these  wretched  boys  could  not  hoot  at  them 
more  vehemently  when  they  meet  them  off  their  own 
special  ground.  There  the  hoodlum  would  undoubt 
edly  get  the  worst  of  it,  and  with  commendable  wisdom 
the  little  cowards  wait  their  opportunity  elsewhere. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  a  city  of  such  vast  distances  as 
San  Francisco  claims  the  honor  of  having  introduced 
the  use  of  cable  cars,  which  run  in  such  a  truly  mys 
terious  fashion  that  the  newly-imported  Chinaman's 
remark,  "  No  pushee,  no  pullee,  go  like  hellee,"  best 
describes  their  rapid  transit  through  the  streets,  and 
up  the  steep  hills,  for  which  this  town  is  famous. 
These  cable  roads  are  quite  a  feature  of  life  here,  and 
one  is  thankful  to  think  that  a  wire-rope,  three  inches 
in  circumference,  run  into  an  iron  tube  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  street,  between  the  rails,  can  save  poor 
horses  the  cruel  task  of  climbing  the  steep  grades 
throughout  the  city.  An  iron  arm  from  the  car 
catches  the  cable  securely,  and  can  be  released  at  will 
by  the  operator.  The  only  time  I  objected  to  these 
cars  was  when  they  followed  our  carriage  at  full  speed 
down  some  steep  incline,  while  the  coachman  showed 
no  symptoms  of  getting  out  of  the  way ;  for  if  this 
necessary  operation  is  not  performed  in  time  the  result 


224  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

is  somewhat  unpleasant  for  the  carriage  and  its  occu 
pants,  though  the  cable  car  gaily  passes  on  its  way, 
leaving  unconcernedly  behind  it,  a  cracked-up  vehicle, 
injured  horses,  and  alarmed,  if  not  bruised  and  shaken 
passengers.  I  fortunately  escaped  such  untoward  ex 
periences  myself,  but  on  the  Geary  Street  Hill  I  have 
seen  more  than  one  accident.  An  unfortunate  car 
riage  on  its  side  with  broken  wheels  and  pole  is  the 
retribution  which  follows  a  disinclination  to  give  the 
right  of  way  in  due  time  to  the  cable  car,  which  cer 
tainly  commands  the  road,  if  "  might  means  right  "  in 
this  land  of  independence. 

San  Francisco  may  well  boast  of  its  location.  Napfes 
and  Edinburgh  justly  pride  themselves  upon  their 
surroundings,  but  the  "  Queen,"  or  "  Bay  City  "  of 
California  is  simply  perfect ;  with  the  Pacific  Ocean 
at  her  feet,  the  Golden  Gate  which  leads  to  the  harbor, 
and  the  hills  on  all  sides,  she  has  a  position  of  unrival 
led  beauty.  The  drives  through  the  Park  to  the  Cliff 
House  and  to  the  Presidio,  the  military  post,  and  to 
Fort  Point,  are  magnificent.  A  few  years  since  this 
park  of  11,000  acres  was  a  sand  waste.  Now  it  is 
covered  for  the  most  part  with  grass  plots,  thousands 
of  trees  have  been  planted  in  it,  pines,  cypresses, 
mimosas,  and  the  evergreen  Australian  gum-tree ;  the 
brilliant  scarlet  geraniums  are  growing  eight  feet  high, 
and  flowering  shrubs  on  all  sides  delight  the  eye, 
while  the  air  is  filled  with  their  sweet  fragrance. 

The  Golden  Gate  is  of  course  seen  to  most  perfec 
tion  by  those  who  enter  the  harbor  by  sea  ;  but  I  was 
quite  content  with  looking  at  it  from  the  surrounding 
hills,  and  I  shall  long  remember  a  pleasant  day  spent 
at  the  Cliff  House,  where  some  Californian  friends 


SEAL    ROCKS.  225 

entertained  us  at  luncheon,  and  we  spent  the  after 
noon  watching  the  far-famed  seal  rocks,  where  hun 
dreds  of  sea  lions  disport  themselves — sometimes 
basking  in  the  glorious  sun,  then  diving  into  the 
water,  talking  in  their  strange  language,  with  the 
peculiar  bark  for  which  they  are  noted,  their  weird 
and  discordant  voices  being  heard  far  above  the  Pacific 
Ocean  breakers  which  wash  the  shores.  This  is  justly 
esteemed  one  of  the  city's  chief  attractions,  and  these 
rocks  and  their  inhabitants  are  rigorously  protected 
by  the  authorities. 

"  Why  are  these  splendid  mansions  built  of  wood 
instead  of  granite  or  even  brick?"  is  the  natural  ques 
tion  which  rises  to  one's  lips  on  being  introduced  to 
the  magnificent  houses  of  Mrs.  Mark  Hopkins,  Mr. 
Crocker,  Mr.  Leland  Stanford,  and  other  millionaires 
in  California  Street.  Some  people  told  me  it  was 
ordained  by  the  imperative  law  of  fashion ;  a  physi 
cian  assured  me  "  that  stone  houses  were  damp  and 
unsuitable  in  this  climate  ";  others  darkly  intimated  it 
was  due  to  the  frequency  of  earthquakes. 

Let  the  reason  be  what  it  may,  the  fact  remains 
that  the  first  stone  residence  has  only  just  been  com 
menced  for  Mr.  James  G.  Flood.  It  may  perhaps 
bring  about  a  new  era  in  house  building,  but  the 
house  itself  will  not  be  completed  for  two  years.  It 
will  be  built  of  brown  stone  from  the  Connecticut 
quarries,  of  the  same  character  as  that  so  largely  used 
in  New  York,  although  granite  quarries  abound  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  this  city. 

In  the  meantime  the  wooden  houses,  built  of  red 
pine  wood,  and  heated  throughout  with  furnaces,  are 
terribly  dangerous ;  when  they  once  catch  fire  it  is 

10* 


226  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

difficult  to  stop  the  conflagration  or  prevent  it  from 
spreading.  Two  blocks  from  the  Palace  Hotel,  a 
large  lumber  yard,  close  to  the  shipping  docks,  caught 
fire  one  night,  and  I  watched  from  the  windows  of  the 
beautiful  suite  of  rooms  always  occupied  by  Christine 
Nilsson  during  her  visits  to  this  city,  one  of  the  most 
terrible  fires  I  ever  saw.  For  some  time  it  seemed  as 
if  nothing  would  avert  its  progress,  and  the  greatest 
excitement  prevailed.  At  times  the  flames  seemed 
nearing  the  Grand  Hotel  just  opposite,  at  other  times 
they  lighted  up  the  ships  in  the  harbor  till  they  stood 
out  like  so  many  spectre  vessels.  At  last,  in  a  lull  of 
the  smoke  which  was  being  vomited  forth  while  blaz 
ing  rafts  shot  up  into  the  evening  skies,  we  saw  that 
the  brave  men  had  reached  the  roof,  and  had  the  fire 
hose  in  full  operation  on  the  burning  pile ;  and  after 
considerable  effort  .it  was  evident  that  the  fire  was 
under  control.  The  fire-brigade  here  is  in  splendid 
condition  ;  more  than  three  hundred  men  are  engaged 
in  the  service.  The  average  number  of  fires  is  twenty- 
five  in  a  month,  and  the  red  pine-wood,  though  it 
soon  makes  a  fierce  blaze,  also  absorbs  the  water  very 
rapidly,  so  that  a  well-directed  stream  early  applied 
saves  many  a  house,  thanks  to  the  promptitude  of  the 
fire  patrol. 

I  was  greatly  interested  in  the  Foundling  Hospital 
on  the  Golden  Gate  Avenue,  to  which  I  was  intro 
duced  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hardy.  It  was  a  strange  sight 
to  find  in  one  nursery  more  than  a  dozen  little  infants 
one  or  two  days  old.  Upwards  of  a  thousand  have 
been  admitted  since  the  institution  opened,  and  for 
the  most  part  they  are  adopted  by  wealthy  but  child 
less  parents,  who,  in  many  cases,  adopt  them  as  their 


THE    FOUNDLING    HOSPITAL.  227 

own,  and  preserve  the  terrible  secret  which  surrounds 
its  birth  both  from  the  child  itself  and  inquisitive 
neighbors.  The  unhappy  mothers,  thanks  to  the 
Christian-like  spirit  and  watchful  discretion  exercised 
by  Dr.  Hardy,  are  given  every  chance  to  make  a  fresh 
start  in  life,  and  are  thus  saved  from  the  abyss  of 
despair  which  drives  so  many  to  total  destruction. 
Stern  moralists  have  ventured  to  urge  that  such  un 
fortunate  girls  should  not  be  saved  from  the  conse 
quences  of  their  evil  doings ;  but  very  different  are 
the  teachings  of  the  great  Master,  who  shamed  the 
Pharisees  of  old  by  suggesting  that  those  without  sin 
should  cast  the  first  stone,  while  He  gently  bade  the 
penitent  woman  to  go  her  way  and  sin  no  more. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Strange  contrasts  afforded — Drinking  and  total  abstinence — Di 
vorces — Fast  sets  and  earnest  reform  workers — Mrs.  Sarah 
B.  Cooper — Free  Kindergartens— Mr.  Tabor's  Art  Gallery — 
Lotta  Crabtree's  fountain — The  Baldwin  Hotel — Mr.  Highton 
— Silk  culture — Efforts  of  Mrs.  Hittell  and  the  State  Board — 
Prizes  won  at  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition  by  California  ladies 
for  the  best  silk  cocoons  raised  in  the  United  States — Com 
mercial  opportunities  of  San  Francisco — The  Immigration 
Association — Chinese  labor  question. 

SAN  FRANCISCO  is  a  city  of  strange  contrasts.  Per 
haps  there  is  not  a  faster  place  in  the  world,  and  yet 
there  are  few  more  conspicuous  for  works  of  true  be 
nevolence.  There  is  more  drinking,  and  more  fanat 
ical  total  abstinence,  than  I  ever  encountered  else 
where  ;  more  flagrant  use  of  rouge  and  cosmetics, 
more  extreme  dressing  and  devotion  to  pleasure 
among  the  fashionable  people  who  live  in  the  hotels, 
or  on  "  Nob  Hill" — the  local  slang  for  California 
Street.  The  number  of  divorces  compared  with  mar 
riages  in  this  State  is  fearfully  large — "  more  than  one 
in  every  ten,"  I  was  told  by  a  lawyer  who  seemed  an 
authority.  This  may  account  for  the  extraordinary 
boast  of  a  San  Francisco  boy,  who,  incited  by  his 
Chicago  friend's  remarks  on  his  "  Ma's  gold  watch, 
diamond  pin,  and  new  sealskin  sacque,  costing  six 
hundred  dollars,"  contemptuously  observed,  "  Pooh  ! 
that's  nothing;  my  ma's  got  a  new  divorce."  Cer 
tainly  this  freedom  is  one  of  the  marked  'features  ot 
Western  life. 
(228) 


MRS.    SARAH    B.    COOPER.  2 29 

It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  to  be  found  in 
America,  and  especially  in  San  Francisco,  a  terribly 
fast  so-called  society  set,  engrossed  by  the  emptiest 
and  most  trivial  pleasures,  slaves  to  fashion,  and  with 
scarcely  a  thought  beyond  their  promenades,  dancing 
parties,  and  the  number  of  dresses  they  will  have  for 
their  annual  visit  to  a  popular  watering-place.  The 
one  aim  and  end  of  the  existence  of  some  women  is 
the  modiste  and  a  millionaire.  After  what  I  saw  with 
my  own  eyes  I  could  scarcely  marvel  at  a  preacher's 
vigorous  condemnation  of  the  heartless  frivolity  to  be 
seen  on  all  sides.  "  The  first  characteristic  of  these 
ladies,"  said  this  New  York  divine,  "  is  their  extrav 
agant  adornment  of  their  persons ";  he  then  pro 
ceeded  to  allude  to  a  well-known  belle,  whose  ward 
robe  is  insured  for  more  than  20,000  dollars,  conclud 
ing  by  a  denouncement  which  he  dared  not  have 
made  had  there  not  been  sufficient  justification  for  it. 
He  charged  this  fast  section  of  his  countrywomen 
with  being  neither  true  in  speech  nor  action,  and  add 
ed,  "  There  is  unchastity  among  them,  and  they 
know  it.  They  dress  to  excite  the  lower  passions  of 
men,  and  all  the  time  they  know  they  are  sacrificing 
themselves.  Consequently  the  fashionable  woman 
sometimes  sinks  into  an  abyss  of  shame,  and  disap 
pears  from  society  altogether.  Men  talk  a  little,  and 
some  women  shudder, — but  that  is  the  end  of  the 
story." 

There  is,  however,  another  side  to  the  picture,  and 
in  this  very  city  will  be  found  a  pleasant,  intellectual, 
cultured  society,  and  also  a  large  number  of  earnest 
workers  in  reforms  of  all  kinds.  Notable  among  the 
latter  is  Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Cooper,  a  bright,  genial  lady, 


2JO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

whom  to  know  is  "  a  liberal  education/'  and  whose 
work  in  the  various  social  movements  for  the  im 
provement  of  the  people  is  such  that  she  is  justly  re 
garded,  far  and  wide,  as  one  of  the  best  types  of  rep 
resentative  American  women.  "  If  one  woman  alone 
is  enough  to  redeem  a  whole  nation,  that  woman  is 
Mrs.  Cooper,"  was  the  thought  that  forced  itself  on 
my  mind  after  but  a  very  short  association  with  this 
remarkable  lady,  so  earnest  and  quiet,  so  firm,  yet  so 
conciliating,  with  a  keen  insight  into  character,  but 
such  a  tender  charitable  judgment,  possessing,  in 
short,  all  that  is  best,  truest,  and  most  human  con 
veyed  by  that  one  much  abused  word,  "  Christian." 
"  To  see  her  at  her  best  you  should  attend  her  Sun 
day  Bible-class,"  exclaimed  one  of  her  enthusiastic 
followers,  who  was  telling  me  of  the  cruel  trial  Mrs. 
Cooper  had  experienced  in  being  tried  by  a  Presby 
terian  Church  for  heresy,  for  which  she  was  naturally 
unanimously  acquitted.  This,  however,  I  was  unfor 
tunately  unable  to  do ;  therefore  I  shall  quote  Miss 
Frances  Willard's  picture  of  the  scene :  "  Men  and 
women  of  high  character  and  rare  thoughtfulness 
were  gathered,  Bibles  in  hand,  to  hear  the  exposition 
of  the  acquitted  heretic,  whom  a  Pharisaical  deacon 
had  begun  to  assail  contemporaneously  with  her  out 
stripping  him  in  popularity  as  an  expounder  of  the 
gospel  of  love.  Mrs.  Cooper  entered  quietly  by  a 
side  door,  seated  herself  at  a  table  level  with  the 
pews,  laid  aside  her  fur-lined  cloak,  and  revealed  a 
fragile  but  symmetric  figure,  somewhat  above  the 
medium  height,  simply  attired  in  black,  with  pose 
and  movements  altogether  graceful,  and  while  per 
fectly  self-possessed,  at  the  furthest  remove  from  be- 


KINDERGARTENS.  23! 

ing  self-assertive.  Then  I  noted  a  sweet,  untroubled 
brow,  soft  brown  hair  chastened  with  a  tinge  of  sil 
ver  (frost  that  fell  before  its  time,  doubtless,  at  the 
doughty  deacon's  bidding)  ;  blue  eyes,  large,  bright, 
and  loving;  nose  of  the  noblest  Roman,  dominant 
yet  sensitive,  chiseled  by  generations  of  culture,  the 
unmistakable  expression  of  highest  force  and  mettle- 
someness  in  character,  held  in  check  by  all  the  gen 
tlest  sentiments ;  a  mouth  firm,  yet  delicate,  full  of 
the  smiles  that  follow  tears. 

"  The  teacher's  method  was  not  that  of  pumping  in, 
but  drawing  out.  There  were  no  extended  mono 
logues,  but  the  Socratic  style  of  colloquy — brief, 
comprehensive,  passing  rapidly  from  point  to  point, 
characterized  the  most  suggestive  and  helpful  hour  I 
ever  spent  in  Bible  class.  There  was  not  the  faintest 
effort  at  rhetorical  effect ;  not  a  suspicion  of  the  hor 
tatory  in  manner,  but  all  was  so  fresh,  simple,  and 
earnest,  that  in  contrast  to  the  pabulum  too  often 
served  up  on  similar  occasions,  this  was  nutritious  es 
sence."  Mrs.  Cooper  lives  in  a  lovely  little  house  in 
Vallejo  Avenue,  overlooking  the  Golden  Gate,  sur 
rounded  by  her  books ;  a  devoted  husband  and 
daughter  complete  the  circle,  and  before  I  left  San 
Francisco  I  indeed  had  reason  to  feel  grateful  for  the 
introduction  that  had  brought  me  into  social  inter 
course  with  that  happy,  genial  trio;  for  unlike  many 
other  public  workers,  the  inmates  of  Mrs.  Cooper's 
own  household  are  those  who  most  enthusiastically 
"  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed." 

Mrs.  Cooper's  work  in  the  formation  of  Kindergar 
tens  interested  me  deeply.  Recognizing  that  the 
hope  of  the  future  lies  in  the  children  of  to-day,  she 


232  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

has  succeeded  in  convincing  her  fellow-citizens  that 
dollars  invested  in  schools  are  better  outlays  than 
money  spent  for  costly  prisons  and  reformatories. 
America  has  always  maintained  the  principle  that 
every  child,  whether  rich  or  poor,  should  be  educated, 
so  that  he  might  have,  as  far  as  may  be,  a  fair  chance 
in  life ;  and  of  late  years  she  has  recognized  very  ex 
tensively  that  the  system  of  Frobel  is  a  powerful 
agency  for  unfolding,  strengthening,  and  increasing 
every  faculty  of  mind  and  body,  especially  when  ap 
plied  to  the  little  waifs  of  the  byways  and  alleys  which 
unhappily  exist  in  the  midst  of  her  newer  civiliza 
tion,  as  much  as  in  the  crowded  cities  of  the  old  world. 
Great  as  woman's  influence  is  on  all  questions  of 
human  interest,  it  is  nowhere  of  more  importance  than 
in  dealing  with  those  matters  which  relate  to  the  wel 
fare  of  children.  Here,  indeed,  is  her  sovereign 
sphere,  and  no  one  will  dispute  her  right  to  guide 
schemes  devised  for  the  training  of  the  sensitive  little 
souls,  so  soon  shaped  for  good  or  evil  during  the  pli 
able  days  of  infancy.  Teaching  is  held  by  some  to 
be  essentially  "  masculine,"  and  best  done  by  men, 
but  training,  they  assert,  is  "  feminine,"  and  woman's 
peculiar  mission.  Certainly  the  great  importance  of 
good  early  training  during  the  first  few  years  of  life 
can  not  be  over-estimated,  and  Mrs.  Cooper,  and  the 
noble  band  of  women  who  are  working  with  her  in 
this  direction,  try  to  secure  it,  for  the  worse  than 
motherless  little  city  outcasts,  by  the  establishment 
of  free  kindergartens.  The  teacher  needs  motherly 
tenderness  joined  to  a  quick  insight  into  character, 
and  the  knack  of  dealing  with  each  separate  child  ac 
cording  to  its  special  needs  and  peculiarities.  "  In 


ARTISTIC    PROCLIVITIES.  233 

fact,"  said  Mrs.  Cooper,  in  discussing  this  subject, 
"  she  needs  to  be  forty  mothers  condensed  into  one." 
She  must  secure  that  "  happy  atmosphere  "  in  which 
alone  children  really  thrive.  Nothing  gloomy  must 
enter  "  the  children's  garden  " — "  no  profit  grows 
where  no  pleasure  is  taken  " — their  play  must  be  made 
instructive,  so  that  imperceptibly  it  is  turned  to 
good  account.  The  very  toys  teach  the  children  to 
think  and  to  invent,  and  industry  and  perseverance 
are  thus  unconsciously  grafted  on  the  virgin  soil. 

Fortunately  Kindergartens  need  now  no  advocacy 
or  expounding;  nearly  every  one  is  agreed,  both  in 
America  and  England,  as  to  their  usefulness  in  the 
case  of  children  under  ten  years  of  age.  Frobel's 
plans  have  been  modified  to  suit  the  English  National 
and  School  Boards,  and  some  time  since  received  the 
endorsement  of  the  Elementary  Teachers'  Union  at 
their  gathering  at  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  as 
"  in  the  highest  degree  successful."  But  in  both 
countries  help  is-  needed  for  the  establishment  of  free 
Kindergartens ;  in  Mrs.  Cooper's  case,  she  pleads  for 
little  children  of  both  sexes,  from  three  to  six  years 
of  age,  "  that  they  may  be  rescued  from  the  pernicious 
influence  of  the  streets,  and  taught  cleanliness,  order, 
and  industry."  Very  nobly  have  the  citizens  of  San 
Francisco  responded  ;  not  only  have  the  millionaires, 
who  built  that  vast  railroad  which  practically  anni 
hilates  the  distance  between  the  Pacific  and  the  At 
lantic  oceans,  given  generously  of  their  wealth,  but 
their  wives  are  personally  assisting  in  the  work  in 
every  way  in  their  power.  The  clear  climate  and 
bright  sunshine  of  California  seems  to  act  like  Italian 
skies  on  the  children,  and  their  artistic  proclivities 


234  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

are  very  marked.  I  saw  some  capital  specimens  of 
their  work  in  this  direction  through  the  kindness  of 
Miss  Marwedel,  a  German  lady  who  is  also  promoting 
the  system  in  its  higher  branches. 

"  Miss  Emma  Marwedel  may  be  termed  a  most 
heroic  pioneer,  for  she  has  now  devoted  seven  years 
absolutely  to  this  work  on  the  Pacific  coast,"  said 
Mrs.  Cooper  ;  "  she  has  now  a  flourishing  Normal 
School  and  private  Kindergarten  at  the  corner  of  Van 
Ness  Avenue  and  Sacramento  Street,  but  still  con 
tinues  to  render  noble  service  to  the  charity  Kinder 
gartens  of  this  city." 

I  had  the  great  satisfaction  of  helping  forward  the 
movement  in  some  degree  by  lecturing  both  in  Chi 
cago  and  San  Francisco  for  the  schools  and  the  teach 
ers'  institute,  and  I  was  much  touched  by  the  kind 
tribute  paid  by  the  board  of  management,  of  the  lat 
ter  city,  who  in  recognition  of  my  effort  in  their 
behalf,  named  one  of  their  schools  "  The  Emily 
Faithfull  Kindergarten."  I  can  only  trust  that  the 
school  will  behave  better  than  the  ship  which  was 
named  after  me,  some  years  ago  in  Liverpool,  and 
which  impatiently  broke  away  from  her  moorings 
before  the  hour  appointed  for  the  christening  cere 
monial  ! 

San  Francisco,  altogether,  takes  a  very  high  place 
for  the  educational  advantages  she  affords ;  the  Boston 
system  has  been  wisely  taken  as  the  model  on  which 
her  Normal  High  Schools  have  been  organized,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  splendid  teachers  of  to-day 
will  leave  their  impress  on  the  entire  State.  I  hold 
myself  as  specially  fortunate  in  having  been  brought 
into  such  pleasant  social  communion  with  most  of 
them  during  my  visit  to  the  city. 


AMERICAN    PHOTOGRAPHS.  235 

The  hospitals  are  also  exceptionally  good  ;  churches 
and  clubs  of  course  abound,  and  the  handsome  drink 
ing  fountain  presented  by  Lotta  Crabtree  is  a  pleasing 
memorial  of  the  good-will  which  exists  between  the 
clever  actress  and  the  place  in  which  she  achieved 
her  early  success. 

The  Baldwin  Hotel  runs  the  Palace  very  hard,  and 
is  perhaps  more  desirable  for  family  residence.  A 
charming  dinner  was  given  me  there  by  the  principal 
legal  light  of  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Highton,  and  his 
agreeable  Greek  wife.  Mr.  Highton,  though  now  a 
thorough  American,  is  of  English  origin  ;  his  father, 
who  has  been  very  conspicuous  for  his  work  in  the 
reformation  of  prisoners,  being  a  cousin  of  the  Shake 
spearean  scholar,  Mr.  Gilbert  Highton,  well  known  in 
connection  with  the  Greek  plays  at  the  Westminster 
School  in  London. 

No  one  leaves  San  Francisco  without  visiting 
Tabor's  Art  Gallery,  and  most  distinguished  visitors 
leave  a  very  remarkable  likeness  behind  them.  Di 
rectly  I  entered  the  rooms  I  was  arrested  by  the  most 
vivid  counterfeit  of  Mr.  G.  A.  Sala ;  he  seemed  on  the 
point  of  returning  my  recognition,  as  I  pointed  out 
to  my  companion  his  well-known  features,  bearing 
his  most  genial,  good-natured  expression.  Around 
his  photograph  were  several  well-known  faces — the 
Marquis  of  Lome,  Duke  of  Sutherland,  poor  Lord 
Grosvenor,  Bret  Harte,  Oscar  Wilde,  and  many 
others,  and  the  marvellous  photographs  of  American 
scenery  certainly  involve  a  "  break  "  in  the  direction 
of  your  bank,  or  the  precept  enjoined  by  the  Tenth 
Commandment.  Fresh  from  seeing  the  marvels  to 
be  found  in  the  great  West  and  on  the  Pacific  coast, 


236  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  wonderful  canyons,  waterfalls,  geysers,  and  moun 
tain  passes,  one  can  not  resist  taking  back  such  rare 
reproductions  for  the  benefit  of  friends  at  home,  and 
as  a  pleasant  memorial  of  a  delightful  trip  through 
some  of  the  finest  scenery  in  America. 

Mr.  Tabor  is  a  genuine  artist,  and  benefits  to  the 
utmost  by  the  unusual  advantages  offered  to  photog 
raphers  by  this  climate.  His  views  of  the  Yosemite 
Valley  are  well  known  throughout  Europe,  and  have, 
to  my  knowledge,  already  induced  travellers  to  start 
off  to  see  for  themselves  these  magnificent  Califor- 
nian  trees,  as  well  as  the  Yellowstone  Park,  the  min 
ing  wonders  of  Leadville  and  Nevada,  and  the  cas 
cades  in  Oregon. 

The  State  Board  of  Silk  Culture  afforded  me  every 
opportunity  of  studying  this  growing  Californian  in 
dustry.  Mrs.  J.  H.  Hittell,  from  whom  I  received 
much  kindness,  first  brought  the  matter  before  the 
Horticultural  Society,  and  her  able  paper  attracted 
so  much  attention  that  the  interest  culminated  in 
the  organization  of  the  Woman's  Silk  Culture  Asso 
ciation.  This  society  commenced  negotiations  with 
silk  growers  and  manufacturers  in  different  countries, 
and  elicited  the  co-operation  of  people  throughout 
the  State. 

America  now  claims  to  lead  the  world  in  the  man 
ufacture  of  spun  or  waste  silk,  and  let  me  here  pay  a 
tribute  to  the  ingenuity  and  patient  industry  of 
Messrs.  Cheney  Brothers,  whose  splendid  mills  and 
excellent  arrangements  for  their  operatives  are  well 
known  to  travellers  passing  through  South  Manches 
ter,  in  Connecticut.  They  began  by  importing  the 
raw  material  from  Italy,  and  finally  discovered  meth- 


SILK    CULTURE.  237 

ods  for  doing  with  machinery  what  had  hitherto  been 
only  accomplished  by  hand.  When  we  reflect  that  at 
the  present  moment  there  are  more  than  50,000  peo 
ple  employed  in  the  400  silk  manufactories  in  Amer 
ica,  and  more  than  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  silk  used 
every  month,  it  becomes  evident  that  silk  culture 
promises,  under  proper  direction,  to  prove  a  very  im 
portant  opening  for  the  employment  of  women.  I 
am  not,  however,  quite  prepared  to  accept  the  view 
of  the  enthusiast  who  kindly  brought  me  some  beau 
tiful  specimens  of  the  cocoons  and  native  raw  silk, 
and  assured  me  that  if  I  could  induce  "  families  to 
emigrate  from  the  rural  districts  of  England  to  this 
new  Eldorado,"  my  name  would  "  shine  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  State  as  the  name  of  Moses  shines  for 
leading  Israel  through  the  wilderness  into  the  land  of 
promise." 

Chinese  silk  is  so  shamefully  adulterated  as  to 
cause  a  loss  of  about  forty  per  cent,  to  the  manufac 
turers,  and  the  investigations  of  the  California  Silk 
Culture  Commissioners,  and  the  experiments  made 
by  the  silk-reeling  school  and  filature,  seem  to  point, 
as  the  only  sure  way  to  develop  this  profitable  indus 
try,  to  national  legislation,  and  an  appropriation 
either  in  the  form  of  money  or  land,  similar  to  that 
given  to  agricultural  institutions. 

The  first  step  in  silk  culture  is  the  planting  and 
growing  of  mulberry  trees.  Four  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  can  be  planted  in  one  acre,  and  in  twelve  months 
the  tree  will  be  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  high. 
Then  comes  the  hatching  and  feeding  of  the  worms, 
which  is  best  done  in  California  when  the  rainy  sea 
son  is  over.  The  eggs  will  hatch  in  a  temperature 


230  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

of  from  eighty  to  ninety  degrees,  in  a  period  of  from 
three  to  seven  days.  About  forty  days  is  required 
for  their  development  before  they  are  ready  to  spin 
the  cocoons ;  meantime  they  must  be  fed  on  fresh 
leaves  free  from  excessive  moisture,  and  during  the 
moulting  process  they  require  great  care  and  quiet. 
Once  ready  for  work,  the  worm  seeks  some  conven 
ient  spot,  and  toils  incessantly  till  the  cocoon  is  done. 
This  is  from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  and 
half  as  thick,  oval  in  shape,  and  of  a  yellow  or  white 
color.  It  has  a  woolly  covering  of  floss  silk,  which 
is  first  spun  by  the  worm  as  a  kind  of  support,  and 
within  is  the  silken  cocoon  proper.  This  is  made  of 
one  continuous  thread,  about  1,200  feet  long,  spun 
round  itself,  but  unless  the  temperature  is  warm,  the 
thread  is  shorter.  After  this  the  worm  escapes  from 
the  cocoon,  is  transformed  into  a  beautiful  butterfly, 
and  eggs  are  laid — usually  300  in  number,  and  then, 
having  provided  for  a  new  generation,  it  dies.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  cocoons  are  needed  for  reeling, 
then  the  chrysalides  in  the  cocoon  are  destroyed  by 
heat,  which  must  not  be  too  great,  lest  it  should 
spoil  the  silk.  In  California  the  sun  is  found  suffi 
ciently  powerful ;  in  colder  climates  a  heated  oven  is 
required. 

Mrs.  Hittell  furnished  me  with  the  following  items 
regarding  the  profits  which  may  reasonably  be  ex 
pected  from  silk  culture  :  "  One  acre  planted  prop 
erly  with  the  mulberry  tree  will,  in  three  or  four 
years,  yield  50,000  pounds  of  leaves,  enough  to  feed 
1,000,000  worms.  If  the  object  be  only  to  raise  eggs, 
each  female  will  produce  from  200  to  400.  The  average 
is  300.  Take  the  lowest  number  for  our  calculation, 


PROFITS    FROM    SILK    CULTURE.  239 

and  only  one  in  ten  of  the  worms.  100,000  females 
yield  20,000,000  eggs.  40,000  eggs  weigh  an  ounce. 
You  thus  have  500  ounces.  The  eggs  sell  readily  for 
two  dollars  an  ounce.  The  product  is  therefore  1,000 
dollars  an  acre  on  the  lowest  yield  of  eggs  from  one- 
tenth  of  the  worms.  If,  however,  the  cocoons  are  to 
be  reeled  off  at  home,  2,500  cocoons  yield  one  pound 
of  raw  silk.  The  entire  yield  will  therefore  be  400 
pounds.  The  average  price  of  raw  silk  is  7.50  dollars 
per  pound.  This  equals  3,000  dollars.  The  total  for 
eggs  and  reeled  silk  is  4,000  dollars.  Deduct  from 
this  one-half  for  accidents  and  all  possible  expenses, 
you  still  have  a  net  profit  of  from  1,500  to  2,000  dol 
lars  an  acre  " — a  promising  statement  which  Mrs.  Hit- 
tell  assured  me  was  founded  on  well-digested  facts ; 
and  Mr.  Provost,  in  the  Silk  Growers  Manual,  even 
estimates  the  net  profits  of  one  acre,  for  experienced 
growers,  at  3,000  dollars. 

California  seems  peculiarly  suited  to  this  industry, 
for  with  but  little  labor  it  can  produce  more  prolific 
crops  of  mulberry  leaves  than  any  other  State.  The 
temperature  is  adapted  for  the  development  of  the 
silk-worm  ;  and  in  a  few  years  silk  culture  will  proba 
bly  rank  among  one  of  its  must  profitable  pursuits, 
affording  employment  to  many  women  in  factories, 
and  to  large  numbers  within  their  own  homes.  It  is 
pre-eminently  a  family  industry;  for  small  experiments 
scarcely  any  capital  is  required,  and  but  little  land. 
It  is  said  that  there  are  "  thousands  of  acres  of  as 
good  land  to  be  bought  in  California  to-day  with  less 
money  per  acre  than  the  annual  rentage  would  be  in 
France,  where  the  workers  in  silk  culture  grow  the 
mulberry,  mostly,  on  rented  lands,  live  in  rented 


240  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

homes,   and   raise,  spin,  and   weave    the    silk  which 
yields  to  their  country  31,000,000  dollars  every  year. 

Those  who  declare  that  the  importation  of  eighty 
thousand  Chinamen  "  crushes  family  life,  and  puts  the 
future  of  the  State  in  peril,"  fear  that  enterprising 
Chinese  capitalists  will  set  their  own  countrymen  to 
the  culture  of  mulberry  farms  all  over  the  State  in 
such  numbers,  that  the  production  and  trade  in  silk 
will  be  so  secure  in  their  hands  that  successful  com 
petition  will  be  hopeless.  The  danger  is  all  the 
greater,  as  the  product  in  California  is  so  superior,  the 
State  is  so  peculiarly  suited  to  the  culture,  and  the 
Chinese  are,  by  long  familiarity  with  the  business,  the 
most  expert  of  all  nations  in  every  branch  of  the 
industry." 

In  France  40,000,000  dollars  a  year  are  earned 
by  the  women  from  silk  culture.  Many  of  the  women 
of  Italy  depend  on  it  for  their  living;  even  Lombardy 
exports  30,000,000  dollars'  worth  of  raw  silk  annually, 
after  supplying  all  that  is  needed  for  the  home  mar 
ket  ;  and  the  silk  manufacturing  interest  in  that  small 
province  is  immense.  Why,  then,  should  not  Cali- 
fornian  women,  with  their  quick  intelligence,  meet 
with  equal  success?  In  the  year  1882  it  was  shown 
by  successful  experiments  in  thirty-two  different 
counties  that  California  can  produce  the  very  best 
quality  of  silk.  At  the  National  Silk  Culture  Exhi 
bition  in  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  Downing,  of  San  Rafael, 
was  awarded  the  first  prize,  100  dollars,  for  the  best 
silk  cocoons  raised  in  the  United  States  the  previous 
year.  Silk  growers  in  twelve  different  States  were 
represented  in  the  competition.  Another  prize  of 
50  dollars  was  awarded  to  Miss  Julia  B.  Farnsworth,  a 


SILK-WORMS.  241 

school  teacher  of  San  Jose",  who  raised  ninety  pounds 
of  cocoons,  the  work  being  done  partly  during  the 
period  of  her  school  duties. 

The  Governor  and  State  Legislature  have  taken  up 
the  matter  in  good  earnest,  and  the  school  established 
in  Commercial  Street,  where  a  steam-power  reel  is  in 
operation,  gives  instruction  to  those  anxious  to  learn 
filature  work ;  here,  too,  cocoons  are  purchased,  and 
eggs  given  to  those  who  guarantee  having  a  proper 
supply  of  food  for  them.  Five  hundred  silk-worms 
can  be  supplied  by  the  leaves  of  one  well-grown  mul 
berry  tree,  and  farmers  are  encouraged  to  plant  these 
trees  with  a  view  to  "home  industry,"  which  will 
enable  his  wife  and  daughters  to  earn  several  hundred 
dollars  a  year.  Left  to  industrious  women,  silk  cul 
ture  is  said  to  thrive;  when  stock  companies  have 
attempted  it,  failure  has  hitherto  been  the  result.  In 
a  bulletin  given  me  by  the  State  Board,  it  is  said  that 
"  large  mulberry  groves,  large  and  crowded  cocoon 
eries,  managed  by  superintendents,  agents,  clerks,  and 
secretaries,  and  the  work  performed  by  a  large  force 
of  laborers  for  the  benefit  of  absent  stockholders, 
have  never  paid,  and  they  probably  never  will.  In 
all  its  history  thus  far  silk  culture  has  defied  corpora 
tions."  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  urged  that  it  will  "  pay 
the  husband  and  father  to  help  his  family  to  engage 
in  silk  culture  by  planting  a  few  trees  for  their  use. 
It  will  pay  the  philanthropist  to  foster  silk  culture, 
for  it  will  provide  employment  for  many  who  are  now 
idle  in  the  country  and  in  the  city.  It  will  pay  the 
State  to  add  silk  culture  to  its  other  industries,  for  it 
will  make  its  citizens  richer.  It  will  pay  our  country 
to  see  that  silk  culture  is  extended  to  every  agricul- 
ii 


242  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

tural  family  in  the  land,  for  it  will  keep  at  home, 
among  the  people,  many  millions  of  dollars  every 
year  that  we  are  now  sending  abroad  to  purchase 
what  we  could  easily  ourselves  produce." 

San  Francisco  is  one  of  the  world's  great  thorough 
fares,  the  veritable  "  warder  of  two  continents,"  and 
it  seems  difficult  to  see  how  her  commercial  prosper 
ity  can  ever  be  taken  from  her.  Other  places,  such 
as  Portland,  Guaymas,  and  San  Diego,  may  grow  and 
flourish  beside  her,  but  she  will  ever  be  the  natural 
emporium  of  the  Asiatic  trade,  and  the  distributing 
point  for  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  western  coast  of  the  United  States  closely 
resembles  Europe  in  many  respects,  though  there  is 
no  part  of  the  Old  World  where  the  mean  tempera 
ture  of  January  and  July  are  so  near  together  as  in 
San  Francisco,  and  much  of  the  industry  to  be  found 
in  California,  Oregon,  and  Washington  Territory  may 
be  attributed  to  the  mild  winters  and  cool  summers 
which  prevail  there. 

Favorable  conditions  are  thus  secured  for  both 
agricultural  and  horticultural  pursuits;  the  great  va 
riety  of  configuration  of  the  valleys,  presenting  end 
less  checks  and  break-winds  to  the  ocean  breezes  as 
they  come  in  at  the  Golden  Gate  and  sweep  up  the 
country,  .causes  corresponding  variations  in  the 
climate.  San  Francisco  itself  suffers  much  from  trade 
winds  and  fog,  and  while  the  air  is  balmy  at  noon, 
the  mornings  and  evenings  are  apt  to  be  chilly.  In 
fact,  it  seemed  to  me  that  California  was  a  land  of 
many  climates,  some  of  which  could  not  be  included 
under  the  term  "  glorious  "  !  The  country,  however, 
doubtless  offers  splendid  opportunities  to  the  indus- 


IMMIGRATION    ASSOCIATION.  243 

trious  settler,  and  I  accordingly  accepted  with  great 
readiness  the  invitation  received  from  the  President 
of  the  Immigration  Association  to  attend  a  Board 
meeting,  and  spend  a  few  hours  at  the  office  to  see 
for  myself  how  their  business  is  carried  on. 

My  visit  was  timed  so  as  to  enable  me  to  be  on  the 
spot  when  the  crowded  emigrant  train  arrived  at  the 
depot,  where  it  is  always  met  by  an  officer  from  the 
Association,  who  offers  the  free  help  and  advice  of 
this  admirable  undertaking  to  all  strangers  seeking 
"  fresh  fields  and  pastures  new  "  in  the  State. 

All  the  gentlemen  connected  with  this  Immigration 
Association  are  persons  of  wealth  and  position,  whose 
information  can  be  thoroughly  trusted.  Out  of  the 
nine  Directors  the  by-laws  compel  five  to  be  drawn 
from  the  Board  of  Trade.  All  the  office  expenses — 
rent,  secretary,  clerks,  etc. — are  paid  out  of  voluntary 
subscriptions ;  no  property  may  be  acquired,  or  land 
sold  for  profit,  as  the  sole  reward  looked  for  is  the 
growth  and  welfare  of  California  by  the  introduction 
of  the  right  people  into  the  right  places  throughout 
the  State. 

After  a  very  interesting  conversation  with  the  dif 
ferent  members  of  the  Board,  the  secretary  brought 
in  the  books  for  my  inspection.  In  one,  the  names 
of  all  applicants  are  enrolled  ;  while  others,  with  the 
help  of  maps,  show  the  public  lands  still  unoccupied, 
which  amount  to  several  millions  of  acres.  In  what 
is  termed  the  thermal  or  warm  belt  there  is  now 
enough  unoccupied  land,  to  be  had  from  two  to  five 
dollars  an  acre,  to  produce  all  the  oranges,  lemons, 
limes,  raisins,  and  figs  that  will  be  consumed  in 
America  during  the  next  century,  and  it  is  peculi  rly 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  these  fruits. 


244  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

At  a  signal  from  the  President  I  entered  the  outer 
office  just  as  these  eager  applicants  from  the  old 
world  trooped  in,  with  the  official  who  had  met  them 
on  the  arrival  of  the  train.  I  watched  one  after  an 
other  enter  his  name  in  the  book,  his  capacities  in  the 
direction  of  capital  and  labor,  and  his  special  knowl 
edge  or  handicraft.  Then  the  "  vacant  lot "  book 
was  opened,  the  character  of  the  soil  in  different  dis 
tricts  described,  the  products  ranged  on  the  shelves 
round  the  room  were  freely  handed  about  for  inspec 
tion  and  discussion,  and  some  were  duly  criticised.  No 
one  can  dispute  the  size  of  Californian  fruit,  but  it 
must  be  confessed  that  this  is  sometimes  its  only 
merit.  The  newness  of  the  soil  of  course  in  a  meas 
ure  accounts  for  this,  together  with  the  extreme 
youth  of  the  fruit  trees.  The  apple-tree  grows  too 
quickly  here,  and  will  never  be  able  to  compete  with 
its  eastern  rival,  the  world-famed  apples  of  New 
England,  and  it  will  take  some  time  before  Californian 
oranges  will  excel  those  of  Florida. 

While  the  several  virtues  of  the  various  soils  and 
products  were  being  explained  to  the  emigrants  from 
the  overcrowded  cities  of  Europe,  it  seemed  as  if 
these  strangers  and  foreigners — English,  Scotch,  Ger 
mans,  and  Swedes — felt  they  had  already  found  in  the 
New  World  kind  friends  anxious  to  help  them.  Directly 
a  sufficient  party  can  be  formed  for  settlement  in  a  cer 
tain  district,  the  Association  arranges  for  its  departure 
by  a  special  train,  and  sends  one  of  its  best  officials 
to  start  the  new  settlers  with  as  much  comfort  as 
possible  in  their  future  homes,  having  previously 
guided  their  purchases,  both  as  regards  household 
goods,  farming  appliances,  and  stock,  with  the  judg- 


CHINESE    LABOR    QUESTION.  245 

ment  only  to  be  gained  by  a  long  experience.  The 
value  of  such  assistance  can  scarcely  be  overrated. 
California  is  certainly  a  most  prolific  land  ;  everything 
grows  there  with  wonderful  rapidity.  An  industrious 
man  has  no  difficulty  in  finding  employment  in  any 
manual  direction,  but  a  terrible  disappointment  awaits 
the  clerk  or  cashier  who  ventures  there,  for  he  will 
find  that  every  place  of  the  kind  is  more  than  filled. 
I  had  several  letters  while  in  San  Francisco  from 
young  Englishmen  who  were  in  despair  at  the  false 
move  they  had  made  in  coming  out  expecting  to  find 
berths  of  this  kind.  Not  the  best  letters  of  intro 
duction  could  obtain  for  them  a  chance  in  this  direc 
tion.  A  mechanic  with  but  a  few  dollars  in  hand  will 
be  able  to  make  an  excellent  start  in  either  Colorado 
or  California,  and  with  strict  industry  and  economy 
he  will  secure  a  good  position  in  a  few  years.  Ordi 
nary  laborers  easily  earn  one  or  two  dollars  a-day, 
and  skilled  workmen  get  three  or  four.  Those  who 
wish  to  buy  land  can  easily  come  to  the  front  with  a 
capital  of  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  dollars. 

The  burning  question  of  the  day  is  the  labor  ques 
tion.  Some  people  tell  you  that  it  has  been  increased 
tenfold  by  the  action  of  the  Government  with  regard 
to  the  "  heathen  Chinee  ";  others  confirm  the  wisdom 
of  the  movement,  and  declare,  "  We  have  had  enough 
of  the  cheap  Chinese  labor  curse."  It  can  not  be 
denied,  however,  that  the  Chinaman  is  still  a  great 
factor  in  the  ranks  of  labor  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Of 
American  homes  the  Chinese  know  nothing ;  and  for 
American  civilization  they  care  nothing.  "  These 
80,000  anomalous  laborers  level  our  roads,  build  our 
railways,  cultivate  and  can  our  fruits,  catch  and  can 


246  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

our  salmon,  raise  and  peddle  our  vegetables,  make 
our  brooms,  boots,  and  cigars,  harvest  our  grain,  work 
in  our  mines  and  vineyards,  manufacture  our  wool 
lens,  compete  for  housework,  sew  and  wash  our  linen, 
and  make  embroideries,  ruches,  and  many  of  the  fine 
rufflings  which  are  worn  by  our  women.  Step  by 
step  they  are  crowding  into  every  possible  industry. 
We  have  become  used  to  their  presence,  and  have 
grown  dependent  upon  them,  in  the  same  way  that 
our  own  people  in  the  Southern  States  became  de 
pendent  upon  their  slaves.  Labor  there  became  dis 
crowned  ;  and  soon  it  will  cease  to  be  honorable  here,  if 
there  be  no  change.  The  Chinese  hold  to  their  creeds, 
to  their  degrading  customs,  their  national  prejudices, 
and  their  anti-American  civilization  to  the  destruction 
of  our  own" — is  the  testimony  given  by  one  who  speaks 
with  authority  on  this  subject.  On  the  other  hand, 
some  of  the  fruit-growers  I  talked  to  in  Southern 
California  described  the  legislation  on  the  Chinese 
question  as  a  "  mistaken  political  despotism."  They 
complained  that  European  labor  is  more  expensive 
and  can  not  be  relied  on,  and  that  boys  obtained 
from  the  purlieus  of  great  cities  are  worse  than  use 
less.  Emigrants  hitherto  have  been  families  seeking 
homes  of  their  own,  whereas  day  laborers  are  re 
quired,  and  some  are  bold  enough  to  say  that  the 
day  is  not  far  distant  when  Californian  fruit-growers 
and  San  Francisco  merchants  alike  will  clamor  for  a 
repeal  of  the  Chinese  Restriction  Act. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Strawberries  in  February  ;  roses  and  geraniums  growing  in  the 
open  air — New  Orleans  and  Colorado  and  California  con 
trasted — Oakland  and  the  Ebell  Society —Fresno— An  ex 
citing  drive  through  the  colonies — Miss  Austin's  vineyard 
— Mr.  Miller  of  the  Fresno  Republican — Mr.  A.  B.  Butler — 
Raisin  making — The  Eisen  vineyard — Sampling  California 
wines — Family  Emigration  and  the  kind  of  people  wanted — 
Bee  culture — An  ostrich  ranche. 

I  HARDLY  knew  whether  I  felt  more  amazed  to  see 
on  all  sides  of  me,  in  February,  strawberries  on  the 
dinner  table,  lilies,  roses,  and  geraniums  in  full  bloom 
in  the  open  air,  and  the  houses  covered  with  honey 
suckles,  jasmine,  and  passion  flowers,  or  to  find  myself, 
in  spite  of  asthmatic  tendencies,  daily  able  to  drive  for 
hours  in  an  open  carriage  with  impunity.  Nothing  to 
compare  with  this  climate  and  temperature  had  I  ever 
before  experienced  during  an  American  winter  save  in 
Colorado  and  in  New  Orleans  ;  here,  and  in  Colorado, 
there  is  a  buoyancy  and  freshness  that  is  quite  in 
vigorating  ;  whereas  in  New  Orleans  most  people  find 
the  air  too  close  and  exhausting  even  in  January.  I 
am  glad,  however,  that  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  "  sunny  south  "  with  its  cotton-fields  and  sugar 
plantations,  in  spite  of  the  many  disadvantageous  cir 
cumstances  connected  with  my  visit.  I  was  not 
particularly  happy  in  my  surroundings  during  the  time 
I  spent  there  last  winter,  but  the  days  were  so  exquis 
ite  that  the  mere  enjoyment  of  living  seemed  to  suffice. 

(247) 


248  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Here,  in  California,  before  the  rainy  season  thoroughly 
set  in,  I  had  sunshine  within  and  without,  and  kind 
friends  seemed  to  rise  up  on  all  sides  who  could  not 
do  enough  to  make  my  residence  among  them 
thoroughly  enjoyable.  I  had  some  pleasant  trips 
across  the  bay  to  Alameda  and  Oakland.  I  saw  in  the 
distance  the  State  University,  open  to  both  sexes, 
which  flourishes  at  Berkeley,  and  thanks  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  F.  Smith's  hospitality,  spent  some  very  pleasant 
hours  in  driving  through  perfect  avenues  of  villa 
residences,  round  which  fuchsias,  verbenas,  roses, 
geraniums,  and  tropical  plants  were  growing  luxuriant 
ly,  and  also  to  other  picturesque  places  which  greet 
you  at  every  turn  in  this  attractive  neighborhood. 
Oakland  is  naturally  very  proud  of  its  ladies'  club, 
known  as  the  Ebell  Society,  formed  for-the  advance 
ment  of  art,  science,  and  literature,  and  to  promote 
successful  organized  work  for  women.  It  accorded  me 
a  very  kind  afternoon  reception,  at  which  I  was  able 
to  meet  ladies  well  known  for  their  good  works  in 
divers  directions.  The  president  is  very  active  in  the 
temperance  cause,  and,  as  a  sister  of  one  of  my  most 
valued  Canadian  friends,  now  living  in  Montreal,  we 
did  not  meet  as  mere  strangers,  but  a  cordial  under 
standing  from  the  first  moment  subsisted  between  us. 
At  last  the  time  arrived  for  me  to  proceed  on  my 
journey,  for  I  had  an  engagement  which  obliged  me 
to  be  in  St.  Louis  at  a  certain  date.  With  great  re 
luctance  I  bade  farewell  to  San  Francisco  early  one 
morning,  and  reached  Fresno  city  after  a  long  day's 
journey  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  which  ran 
sometimes  by  the  banks  of  the  river,  where  proud 
herons  stalked  about  with  upraised  heads,  perfectly 


VINEYARDS    AND    COLONIES.  249 

indifferent  to  the  approach  of  the  noisy  locomotive ; 
sometimes  by  wheat  ranches,  and  then  for  many  miles 
over  wild  tracks,  where  the  ground-squirrels,  jack  rab 
bits,  gophers,  and  owls  reigned  supreme.  Fresno 
county  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  State  of  California, 
and  the  central  portion  comprises  a  large  part  of  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley.  On  one  side  is  .the  coast  range 
of  mountains,  on  the  other  the  far-famed  Sierra- 
Nevadas  enclose  the  Yosemite  with  its  gigantic  trees. 
The  snows  exclude  the  traveller  from  this  enchanted 
region  till  April  or  May,  and  I  could  therefore 
only  gaze  with  wonder  on  the  various  peaks  from 
13,000  to  15,000  feet  high,  crowned  with  eternal  ice 
and  snow,  and  imagine  the  wonders  enshrined  within 
the  unapproachable  gorges  and  caverns.  Merced 
and  Madera  are  at  present  the  principal  points  of 
departure  for  the  Yosemite  ;  but  the  energetic  city 
of  Fresno,  which  undoubtedly  has  a  great  future  be 
fore  it,  hopes  to  make  a  railroad  ere  long  to  the 
entrance  of  the  valley,  and  by  this  means  to  bring  all 
the  tourists  into  her  midst,  to  the  benefit  of  the  entire 
community. 

The  day  after  I  arrived,  I  started  early  in  the 
morning  on  an  expedition  to  the  various  vineyards 
and  colonies,  for  the  fame  of  the  Fresno  colony, 
American  colony,  Washington  colony,  Temperance 
colony,  and  Scandinavian  colony,  had  already  reached 
me.  "  We  will  drive  first  to  Miss  Austin's,"  said  my 
host,  Mr.  Miller,  proprietor  of  the  Fresno  Republican, 
as  soon  as  I  had  accomplished  the  difficult  feat  of 
getting  into  the  most  extraordinary  vehicle  I  ever 
saw  in  my  life.  The  driver  at  once  gave  a  flick  with 
his  long  whip  to  our  team  of  four  horses,  and  in  an- 


250  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

other  moment  we  were  rapidly — far  too  rapidly  for 
my  peace  of  mind — jolting  over  what  must,  I  sup 
pose,  by  courtesy  be  styled  a  road. 

I  use  that  word  jolting  advisedly,  for  road-making 
is  an  undiscovered  science  in  America.  There  are 
ways  to  a  place,  but  no  roads  in  our  English  accep 
tation  of  the  term.  Even  in  some  of  the  large  cities 
in  the  East  this  is  a  noticeable  feature.  I  was  told 
by  a  friend  in  Cincinnati,  of  the  fate  that  awaited  the 
London-built  carriages  that  a  rich  citizen  in  a  weak 
moment  had  been  tempted  to  bring  over  from  Eng 
land.  In  one  month  he  was  mourning  over  their 
broken  springs  and  general  wreckage !  Out  in  the 
wilds  of  California  I  had  perhaps  no  right  to  expect 
a  smooth  highway,  and  ought  not  to  have  been  as 
surprised  as  I  was  at  the  various  ways  in  which  our 
progress  that  day  was  arrested.  In  the  first  place, 
the  so-called  road  abounded  in  pitfalls,  and  owing  to 
some  recent  rains  these  were  filled  with  mud.  By 
way  of  reassuring  me,  I  suppose,  one  gentleman  of 
the  party  began  to  describe  how  the  horses  some 
times  disappeared  to  their  ears  in  these  holes,  and 
the  occupants  of  the  machine  behind  them  had  to 
escape  from  the  situation  as  they  best  could,  while 
some  valiant  spirit  cut  the  traces  and  released  the 
animals,  and  left  the  vehicle  for  future  ministrations ! 
In  order  to  escape  so  lively  an  experience,  it  was 
deemed  prudent  to  make  tracks  of  our  own  across  the 
fields.  This  proved  to  be  by  no  means  so  easy  as  it 
at  first  appeared,  for  the  ground  is  undermined  by 
various  animals — the  gray  squirrels  speeding  from 
under  the  horses'  feet  with  flying  leaps,  while  the 
jack  rabbits  indulged  in  long  kangaroo-like  bounds, 


MISS    AUSTIN.  251 

turning  round,  when  they  had  put  a  sufficient  dis 
tance  between  us,  to  contemplate  the  unwelcome 
intruders  on  their  domains. 

At  first  sight  the  soil  seemed  unfruitful  to  the  last 
degree,  but  it  has  really  marvellous  capabilities ;  and 
after  five  miles  of  this  exciting  kind  of  driving  we 
reached  Hedge  Row  vineyard.  Our  horses  rattled 
over  a  little  creaky  wooden  bridge,  only  just  wide 
enough  to  take  the  carriage,  which  finally  drew  up 
before  a  charming  cottage  embowered  in  flowers,  and 
guarded  by  a  lordly  turkey  cock  who  resented  our 
appearance,  and  then  craved  for  notice,  after  the 
fashion  of  his  conceited  English  relatives.  Out  step 
ped  the  bright  little  lady,  who  five  years  ago  gave  up 
school-teaching  in  San  Francisco,  and  purchased  a 
hundred-acre  lot,  which  she  now  manages  in  conjunc 
tion  with  three  spinster  friends  and  a  few  Chinamen. 
Inside  the  house  was  an  open  piano  ;  on  the  table 
were  the  latest  books  and  magazines — showing  that 
raisin-growing  had  not  dulled  the  fair  proprietor's  in 
terest  in  the  intellectual  side  of  life. 

Miss  Austin  has  planted  hundreds  of  peach,  apri 
cot,  and  nectarine  trees.  In  the  midst  of  so  much 
raisin-growing  it  is  strange  to  see  but  few  almond- 
trees.  They  seem  so  indissolubly  connected  that  I  felt 
inclined  to  resent  their  being  sundered  in  the  process 
of  growth  ;  but  on  inquiring  the  cause  I  was  told  that 
they  did  not  flourish  in  this  soil.  I  had  already  been 
given,  in  San  Francisco,  a  box  of  Miss  Austin's  raisins, 
"  as  the  best  produced  in  the  State,"  so  that  I  was 
very  glad  to  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  vine 
yard  itself,  and  the  clever  woman  who  had  taken  so 
new  a  departure  in  female  industry.  The  greatest 


252  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

part  of  her  land  is  devoted  to  vines  for  raisin-making, 
these  are  of  the  sweetest  Muscat  variety.  In  the 
raisin-house  were  piles  of  the  neat  familiar  boxes 
which  used  to  delight  my  childish  heart  at  Christmas 
times,  long  before  the  thought  of  how  raisins  grew, 
or  the  coming  need  for  developing  employments  for 
the  support  of  women  ever  troubled  my  mind.  The 
process  of  raisin-making  is  very  simple.  The  grapes 
remain  on  the  vines  till  they  are  perfectly  ripe.  Some 
require  to  be  of  a  golden  color.  Growers  with  great 
capital  and  skill  use  artificial  heat  to  supplement  the 
sun-drying  process,  but  it  is  found  sufficient  here  to 
place  the  bunches  of  grapes  cut  from  the  vines,  in 
trays  between  the  rows,  sloping  to  the  sun.  They 
are  turned  at  intervals,  and,  when  they  lose  their  ashy 
appearance,  are  removed  to  the  barn  known  as  "  the 
sweating-house."  Here  they  remain  till  all  the  mois 
ture  is  extracted,  and  the  stems  become  tough  and 
the  raisins  soft.  The  packing  follows,  in  which  iron 
or  steel  packing-frames  are  used  ;  the  raisins  are  as 
sorted,  weighed,  inspected,  and  made  presentable  before 
being  put  into  boxes  and  sent  to  the  market.  In  1880 
Miss  Austin's  ranche  produced  20,000  pounds  of 
raisins ;  since  then  she  has  built  a  good  packing-house, 
and  it  is  expected  that  her  vineyard  will  very  soon  be 
worth  about  30,000  dollars. 

We  then  drove  to  several  other  places,  and  saw 
many  thriving  homes  and  small  farms.  Alfalfa  seems 
a  sure  crop  in  Fresno ;  sweet  potatoes  and  Egyptian 
corn  thrive  here  ;  honey  can  be  produced  in  unlimited 
quantities,  for  there  are  countless  acres  of  wild 
flowers — larkspurs,  nemophilas,  lupines,  sunflowers — 
on  which  the  bees  can  disport  themselves  rent  free. 


PERILOUS    DRIVING.  253 

We  made  a  short  halt  at  the  central  colony,  estab 
lished  a  few  years  since  by  Mr.  Bernard  Marks,  once  a 
miner,  then  a  public  school-teacher,  finally  a  farmer 
on  the  banks  of  the  San  Joaquin.  This  industrious, 
practical  man  has  a  splendid  ranche,  forty  acres  in  vines, 
and  twice  that  amount  in  alfalfa,  from  which  he  real 
izes  four  crops  a  year  of  from  one  to  two  tons  an  acre. 
We  found  him  busy  in  his  barn  among  his  men,  work 
ing  with  an  energy  which  was  evidently  contagious. 
Nine  handsome  Jersey  cows,  and  others  of  various 
kinds,  keep  a  dairy  well  at  work,  and  the  cheese  and 
butter  produced  command  the  best  prices  in  the 
Fresno  market. 

Another  hour's  perilous  driving  brought  us,  about 
luncheon  time,  to  Mr.  Butler's  extensive  vineyard. 
The  exciting  exercise  and  invigorating  atmosphere 
had  produced  such  keen  appetites,  that  none  of  our 
party  were  loth  to  accept  the  hospitable  fare  set  be 
fore  us ;  after  which  we  took  a  walk  through  the 
grounds  and  visited  the  packing-house,  which  must 
indeed  present  a  lively  scene  when  hundreds  of  tons 
of  raisins  have  to  be  picked  and  made  ready  in  five, 
ten,  and  twenty  pound  boxes,  marked  and  despatched 
for  sale  in  Europe. 

Thoroughly  revived  by  food  and  rest,  and  under 
the  special  guidance  of  Mr.  Butler,  whose  familiarity 
with  the  "  worse  roads  "  still  to  be  encountered  re 
newed  our  courage,  we  reseated  ourselves  behind  the 
fiery  steeds,  that  neither  distance  nor  bad  travelling 
seem  to  tame,  and  leaving  the  five  hundred  acres  oc 
cupied  by  the  Fresno  Vineyard  Company  soon  be 
hind,  we  arrived  at  the  famous  Eisen  vineyard.  The 
approach  to  the  house  was  an  avenue  more  than  a 


254  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

mile  long,  of  oleander  and  poplar  trees,  many  of 
them  eighty  feet  high.  We  explored  the  vast  wine 
cellars,  and  then,  ensconced  in  a  pleasant  nook 
among  the  trees,  we  basked  in  the  glorious  afternoon 
sunshine,  and  "  sampled "  California  port,  sherry, 
claret,  and  champagne,  while  some  particularly  lean 
and  restless  greyhounds  contemplated  us  with  lan 
guid  eyes.  The  exquisite  color  of  the  wine  struck  me 
more  than  its  flavor;  but,  considering  the  age  of  the 
wine,  the  latter  is  more  than  creditable.  The  Muscat 
wine  is  too  luscious  for  English  taste.  There  is,  how 
ever,  in  California,  one  champagne,  which  those  ac 
customed  to  European  dry  wines  will  appreciate, 
namely,  "  The  Eclipse,"  made  by  Havaszthy  &  Co., 
of  San  Francisco  ;  all  the  wine  has  to  be  sent  to 
that  city  to  be  "  finished ";  and  the  firm  named 
above,  and  Kohler  and  Frohling,  are  amongst  the 
best  manipulators  of  the  Californian  grape.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  the  quality  of  the  wines  and  bran 
dies  produced  in  this  State  is  improving  every  year, 
and  when  the  manufacturers  learn  the  best  processes 
and  methods  of  treatment,  Californian  wines  will  be 
come  more  popular  than  they  are  at  present.  At 
present  the  foreign  label  on  the  native  wine  is  found 
the  readiest  means  for  promoting  its  sale.  I  was  told 
that  Henri  Grosjean,  the  French  Commissioner,  had 
spoken  very  favorably  of  the  future  of  the  vineyards 
of  Fresno,  and  expects  that,  "  when  the  irrigation 
problem  is  settled,  the  San  Joaquin  valley  will  be 
come  the  France  of  America — the  vineyard  of  the 
world."  He  thinks  the  sandy  land  of  Fresno  county 
and  the  hill  regions  adapted  for  viticulture,  because 
the  soil  renders  the  vines  less  liable  to  the  ravages  of 


A    TEMPTING    OFFER.  255 

the  destructive  phylloxera,  which  seems  likely  to  ruin 
those  of  France. 

The  pride  of  Fresno  is  still  Mr.  Barton's  vineyard, 
but  our  efforts  to  reach  it  proved  unavailing.  The 
evening  was  near  at  hand,  and  the  roads  were  impas 
sable  ;  a  horseman  we  fortunately  met  told  us  that 
no  vehicle  could  possibly  get  there  without  going 
back  into  Fresno  and  taking  another  route.  So  the 
attempt  was  abandoned,  our  horses'  heads  were 
turned  homewards,  and  a  pleasant  dinner  at  the 
Grand  Central  Hotel  brought  a  very  enjoyable  day 
to  a  conclusion. 

Fresno  boasts  of  a  Court-house  which  resembles 
an  Italian  villa  in  appearance,  and  has  cypresses 
planted  around  it ;  it  has,  like  San  Francisco,  its 
Chinese  quarter,  with  shops  having  gilded  signs  and 
hieroglyphics  on  red  and  yellow  paper.  While  Sing 
Chong  keeps  a  miscellaneous  store,  Yuen  Wa  adver 
tises  himself  as  a  "  Labor  Contractor,"  and  Sam  Sing 
keeps  a  laundry  of  the  usual  pattern.  As  a  rule  the 
Chinese  in  Fresno  are  not  disliked,  but  are  allowed 
to  be  capable  and  industrious. 

Before  I  left  the  town  I  was  offered  twenty  acres 
of  vineyard  of  five  years'  growth — my  friend  another 
twenty ;  a  house  according  to  our  own  plans  was  to 
be  built  for  us,  if  we  promised  to  spend  four  months 
out  of  each  year  in  this  desirable  locality.  But,  alas ! 
the  ocean  which  rolls  between  this  bright,  promising 
land  and  my  well-beloved  London,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  growing  infirmities  of  age,  obliged  me  to  decline 
the  generous  inducement  held  out  to  me.  The  labor 
question  is  the  great  difficulty  which  has  to  be  solved 
before  Fresno  can  be  properly  developed,  and  I  was 


256  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

assured  that  if  I  could  send  out  a  thousand  industri. 
ous  English  emigrants,  they  would  all  have  plenty  of 
work  to  do  at  once.  People  with  a  little  capital 
would  be  able  to  secure  good  land  in  profitable 
places,  and  who  can  predict  the  future  greatness  of 
the  golden  State  ? 

I  do  not  advise  any  one  to  start  off  in  the  hope  of 
realizing  immense  fortunes,  but  people  who  will  be 
content  with  making  a  good  living  in  a  mild  yet  in 
vigorating  climate,  where  animal  and  vegetable  life  is 
unusually  robust,  and  crops  are  not  destroyed  by  cy 
clones  or  blizzards,  will  certainly  not  regret  pitching 
their  tents  among  the  foothills  of  the  Sierra-Nevada 
mountains. 

There  is  a  large  demand  for  family  emigration,  not 
only  in  Los  Angeles  and  Southern  California,  but  all 
over  the  State  from  San  Diego  to  Siskiyou,  in  the 
counties  of  Sonoma,  Mendocino,  Ventura,  Humboldt, 
Yolo,  Colusa,  Tehama,  Stanislaus,  Merced,  Solano, 
Contra  Costa,  and  Marin — there  is  room  for  thou 
sands  of  emigrants.  There  is  work,  too,  for  the 
women  of  the  family ;  and,  in  addition  to  work,  it 
was  greatly  pressed  upon  my  attention  that  "  there 
are  many  hundreds  of  prosperous  bachelors,  needing 
only  the  aid  of  well-regulated  family  life  and  female 
society  to  make  their  condition  what  it  should  be." 

It  must  certainly  be  borne  in  mind  that  thriftless 
people  will  not  succeed  better  in  California  than  in 
England.  In  the  West,  life  is  simple,  the  fare  is 
often  hard  and  coarse,  and  it  is  the  fashion  to  work 
hard,  spend  little,  and  save  something.  Those  who 
are  not  prepared  to  emigrate  under  such  conditions, 
will  do  well  to  remain  at  home. 


AN    OSTRICH    RANCHE.  257 

The  President  of  the  Immigration  Association  in 
San  Francisco  was  justified  when  he  inserted  the  fol 
lowing  observation  into  the  leaflet  for  new  settlers : 
"  He  who  deserves  success  begins  at  bed-rock,  keeps 
out  of  debt,  buys  as  little  as  he  can,  wears  his  old 
clothes,  works  early  and  late,  plants  trees  and  vines 
for  the  future,  leaves  whisky  alone,  and  has  a  defi 
nite  aim  and  plan  in  life.  Such  a  man  can  come  to 
'  California  with  a  small  capital,  and  find  it  a  'good 
State  for  the  poor  man.' " 

Pomona  is  a  pleasant  little  settlement  in  South 
California,  alike  protected  from  harsh  sea  and  desert, 
winds.  Here  an  industry  peculiarly  suitable  to 
women,  namely,  bee-culture,  is  assuming  great  im 
portance.  Large  apiaries  along  the  mountain  slopes 
are  returning  handsome  profits  to  their  owners. 

The  ostrich  ranche  at  Anaheim  is  a  novel  experi 
ment  attracting  a  great  deal  of  attention  just  now. 
Dr.  Sketchley  began  with  a  few  of  these  strange 
birds,  which  thrive  on  the  sandiest  soil,  and  cost  but 
little  to  feed.  Their  peculiar  habits  compel  a  certain 
amount  of  vigilance,  but  their  eggs  and  feathers  fetch 
such  a  high  price  in  the  market,  that  the  industry  ap 
pears  likely  to  prove  very  profitable.  Some  choice 
specimens  of  Japanese  Imperial  persimmons  were 
produced  last  year  by  Mrs.  L.  Parker  at  Anaheim. 
This  is  a  fruit  which  can  not  be  plucked  and  eaten  ; 
it  has  to  be  laid  aside  for  a  month  in  a  dark  place  be 
fore  it  is  ripe  and  pleasant  to  the  taste. 

The  large  share  women  have  already  taken  in  agri 
cultural  pursuits  led  to  the  appointment  of  four  ladies 
on  the  Board  of  a  secret  society  suggested  by  the 
Masonic  Order,  and  known  as  "The  Grange,"  which 


258  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

was  started  by  a  Scotchman  to  promote  "  the  inter 
ests  of  the  cultivators  of  the  soil  in  a  business  and  so 
cial  point  of  view."  These  ladies  filled  the  offices  of 
Ceres,  Pomona,  Flora,  and  lady  assistant  steward. 
There  are  now  Granges  distributed  all  over  the  coun 
try,  and  they  aspire  to  effect  great  moral  and  social 
good.  Dr.  Lessing  gives  a  detailed  account  of  their 
operations  in  his  work  entitled  The  American  Centen 
ary,  and  thinks  the  place  given  to  women  in  the 
Grange  is  too  important  to  be  overestimated.  He 
points  out  the  vast  physical  and  mental  labor  per 
formed  directly  or  indirectly  by  women  in  the  food 
production  of  the  country,  in  milking,  churning,  and 
preparing  butter  and  cheese  for  use,  etc.  He  con 
tinues: 

"  To  these  occupations  must  be  added  the  assistance  of  women 
in  planting,  weeding,  cultivating,  haying,  harvesting,  and  even  the 
care  of  live  stock,  particularly  in  the  Western  Stites  and  Territo 
ries.  Computed  at  the  true  value,  it  will  be  found  that  woman's  la 
bor  in  farming  holds  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  census  of  agricul 
tural  operations,  and  the  production  of  our  national  wealth.  There 
is,  therefore,  essential  need  for  her  thorough  education,  encourage 
ment,  elevation,  and  fostering  love,  by  every  citizen  interested  in 
the  welfare  of  his  country,  for  she  is  truly  'a  helpmeet  for  man.'  " 

In  California  as  in  Colorado,  I  thought  far  more 
might  be  done  in  the  way  of  poultry-keeping  than  has 
as  yet  been  accomplished  ;  a  profitable  trade  is  carried 
on  in  Angora  goats ;  no  State  possesses  better  mules, 
or  makes  more  use  of  them  ;  an  immense  deal  is  done 
in  sheep-raising  and  wool-growing;  the  dairy  interest 
is  enormous,  good  cows  are  worth  sixty  dollars  a  head, 
and  pay  for  themselves  at  least  once  in  the  year.  The 
Spanish  steer  and  the  mustang  horse  which  once 


FRUIT    CANNERIES.  259 

roamed  over  the  country  at  their  own  sweet  will,  have 
been  supplanted  by  the  Dutch  and  Pennsylvania  team 
horses,  and  the  trotters  raised  in  the  blue-grass  sec 
tion  of  Kentucky ;  the  wild  oats  they  fed  on  have 
given  place  to  the  best  scientific  wheat  culture,  alfalfa 
and  Chili  clover ;  the  latter  is  so  dearly  loved  by  the 
California  hog,  that  his  nose  has  to  be  decorated  with 
a  wire  ring  to  prevent  him  from  tearing  out  its  long 
juicy  root.  The  fruit  canneries  yield  immense  profits. 
A  San  Jose"  Packing  Factory  requires  50,000  pounds  of 
fruit  a  day  to  keep  it  going,  and  has  obtained  gold 
medals  at  the  London  and  Australia  exhibitions. 
Among  the  best  fruit  for  canning  I  may  name  the 
yellow  Crawford  peach,  the  Moor  Park  and  Royal 
apricot,  the  Bartlett  pear,  the  great  Bigorean  cherries, 
and  the  Muscat  grape.  It  seems  impossible  to  sur 
mise  the  magnitude  to  which  this  industry  will  grow, 
for  already  it  is  found  difficult  to  supply  the  Euro 
pean  market,  the  demand  has  increased  so  rapidly 
within  the  last  three  years. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  orange  groves  at  Los  Angeles — The  unprecedented  rainfall 
of  1884 — Riverside — Pasedena — Mrs.  Jennie  Carr — Practical 
work  for  women  in  California — Mrs.  Strong's  cotton  ranche 
— Mrs.  Rogers's  40,000  herd  of  cattle  in  Texas — Domestic 
servants — Emigration — Mrs.  E.  L.  Blanchard — Openings  in 
Australia  and  New  Zealand — The  Geysers  and  Mineral 
Springs — Southern  Pacific  Railroad — Glimpses  of  Arizona 
and  New  Mexico — Kansas — Cattle  ranches  in  Wyoming. 

I  EXPERIENCED  the  strangest  fascination  when  wak 
ing  in  the  early  morning  in  Mrs.  Severance's  charming 
ground-floor  house,  covered  with  clematis,  roses,  and 
passion-flowers,  in  which  I  spent  such  a  pleasant  time 
at  Los  Angeles,  in  watching,  without  raising  my  head 
from  the  pillow,  the  dark  emerald  green  of  the  orange 
groves,  rich  with  golden  fruit.  The  trees  grew  close 
to  the  veranda  on  which  my  windows  opened,  and 
were  not  only  laden  with  oranges,  but  full  of  the 
delicate  blossoms  on  the  wearing  of  which  hang  the 
hopes  of  the  maidens  of  most  nations.  Ripe  fruit  and 
flower  growing  side  by  side  is  a  characteristic  feature 
of  the  orange-tree.  So  heavily  weighted  were  some 
of  the  branches  that  they  had  broken  off  the  tree,  and 
fallen  to  the  ground  with  the  luscious  golden-colored 
balls,  some  of  which  measured  eleven  inches  in  cir 
cumference. 

But  the  truth  must  be  told,  and  lovely  as  the  fruit 

is  to  look  at,  these  oranges  are  not  yet  as  pleasant  to 

the  taste  as  those  grown  in  Florida.     This  is  said  to 

be  owing  to  the  growth  of  the  tree ;  so  time,  the  great 

(260) 


VARIOUS    INDUSTRIES.  26  I 

cure  for  all  human  ills,  will  doubtless  come  to  the 
rescue  in  due  course. 

Already  tropical  fruits  of  all  kinds  are  growing, — 
lemons,  limes,  citrons,  pomegranates,  figs,  olives,  etc., 
and  no  part  of  the  Pacific  coast  has  made  such  wonder 
ful  strides  during  the  past  few  years  as  Southern 
California,  for  everything  grows  herewith  spontaneous 
productiveness,  without  fear  of  frost  or  blight.  The 
great  question  on  which  the  permanent  prosperity  and 
growth  depend  is  that  of  irrigation,  in  consequence  of 
the  lightness  of  the  usual  rainfall. 

This  year,  however,  will  be  celebrated  as  an  ex 
ceptional  one  in  the  farmer's  calendar,  for  ere  I  left 
the  quaint  old  Spanish  town,  "  the  city  of  the  angels," 
I  watched  the  orange  groves  through  the  driving  rain, 
and  saw  the  golden  balls  scattered  on  the  ground  as 
thickly  as  the  grass  in  an  English  orchard  is  strewn 
with  pears  and  apples  after  an  autumn  storm.  I 
realized  also  what  a  flood  can  do  in  the  "  glorious 
climate  of  California." 

The  American  people,  throughout  my  three  visits, 
from  North  to  South,  and  East  to  West,  have  welcom 
ed  me  with  a  warmth  and  heartiness  I  shall  never 
forget  ;  but  the  climate  has  seemed  equally  determined 
to  treat  me  to  its  keenest  rarities.  During  my  first 
winter  I  had  the  full  benefit  of  "  the  great  snowstorm 
of  1872,  which  will  long  be  remembered  for  its  desola 
tions  and  discomforts,"  wrote  the  New  York  Tribune. 
Since  then  cyclones,  blizzards,  rainstorms,  thunder  and 
lightning,  have  one  and  all  given  me  a  taste  of  their 
best  quality.  Last  year,  when  I  was  at  Cincinnati, 
the  Ohio  overflowed  its  banks,  as  it  had  never  been 
known  to  do  before,  and  plunged  the  whole  city  in 


262  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

darkness  and  despair,  and  now  I  have  experienced 
what  is  described  by  the  inhabitants  as  the  heaviest 
storms  and  floods,  and  the  worst  weather  California 
has  known  for  twenty-one  years.  The  rivers  were 
flowing  at  will  wherever  they  pleased  ;  houses  were 
submerged  in  all  directions,  and  their  inmates  escaped 
to  the  hills  ;  dams  burst,  so  that  boats  were  more  use 
ful  than  carriages  in  the  city  streets ;  and  the  railway 
track  was  destroyed  for  more  than  a  hundred  miles. 

I  left  Los  Angeles  knee-deep  in  mud.  Piled  up  all 
through  the  principal  thoroughfares  were  high  mounds 
of  mud  to  render  the  streets  at  all  passable,  and  as 
these  were  allowed  to  remain  for  days,  to  the  danger 
of  health  as  well  as  safety,  some  local  satirist  carved 
fancy  wooden  tombstones,  on  which  was  written : 
*'  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  City  Fathers,"  and 
placed  them  in  derision  on  the  mounds.  The  day 
after  I  left  Los  Angeles  the  largest  reservoir  in  the 
city  burst  and  destroyed  a  portion  of  the  town  ;  and 
so  disastrous  had  the  floods  proved  to  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  that  our  train  was  the  last  for  five 
days  to  leave  the  depot. 

Anyhow,  a  good  supply  of  water  has  been  obtained 
for  many  months  to  come.  Owing  to  these  floods  I  was 
unable  to  visit  many  parts  of  the  country.  Riverside, 
for  instance,  one  of  the  most  flourishing  colonies,  full 
of  orange  and  lemon  groves,  I  could  not  reach,  nor 
Pasadena,  where  Mrs.  Jennie  Carr  has  opened  an  in 
dustrial  rural  school  to  prepare  girls  for  practical 
farming.  Mrs.  Carr  gives  instruction  in  the  following 
subjects : 

is/. — The  cultivation  of  fruit  and  nut-bearing  trees,  or  Po 
mology. 


MRS.    CARR,    OF    PASADENA.  263 

id.— The  cultivation  of  forest  and  ornamental  trees  and 
shrubs,  or  Forestry. 

•$d. — The  cultivation  of  flowers  in  the  open  air  and  under  glass 
— Floriculture. 

^th. — The  cultivation  of  vegetables  and  small  fruits  for  market 
— Market  Gardening. 

$th. — Fruit  Drying  and  Preserving,  or  the  changing  of  natu 
ral  into  commercial  products. 

6th. — Domestic  Cookery  and  Housekeeping. 

'jth. —  Useful  and  ornamental  needlework. 

£//#. — Breeding  and  care  of  poultry. 

qth. — Silk  culture  (where  practicable)  and  bee-keeping. 

loth. — Dairying. 

Mrs.  Carr  considers  that  there  are  many  openings 
for  ladies  in  these  various  industries,  and  thinks  that 
many  school-teachers  might  follow  Miss  Austin's  lead, 
and  develop  into  freeholders.  In  an  excellent  article 
on  "  Woman  and  Land,"  Mrs.  Carr  observes : 

"  The  '  colonies '  of  Southern  California  afford  excellent  oppor 
tunities  for  the  extension  of  the  Fresno  experiment  so  as  to  cover 
branches  of  business  growing  out  of  fruit-growing,  silk  culture, 
bee  culture,  and  other  industries.  In  many  of  these  colonies 
long  credits  are  given  for  the  land,  and  houses  are  frequently 
built  and  furnished  on  the  instalment  plan,  thus  making  a  small 
capital,  plus  perseverance  and  energy,  equal  to  a  larger  one. 

"  Women  who  engage  independently  in  farming,  find  little  an 
tagonism  to  overcome.  So  close  is  the  relation  between  land  and 
the  home  that  a  woman  who  surrounds  herself  with  evidences  of 
thrift  and  skill  commands  universal  respect. 

"  A  lady  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  displayed  a  collection  of 
jellies  and  preserved  fruits  at  the  State  Fair,  so  perfectly  pre 
pared,  and  tastefully  arranged,  that  she  not  only  swept  the  board 
in  the  way  of  premiums,  but  a  San  Francisco  banker  paid  her 
five  hundred  dollars  for  them,  saying  :  '  I  bought  them  as  a  sur 
prise  to  my  wife,  and  to  show  my  respect  for  woman  as  an 
industrialist.' 


264  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  On  the  same  occasion,  a  woman  left  on  the  death  of  her  hus 
band  as  the  sole  manager  of  a  complicated  landed  estate,  exhib 
ited  the  fruits  of  her  industry  in  a  novel  form,  viz.,  in  cases  of 
'  Insect  Powder/  which  she  had  manufactured  from  Pyrethrum, 
cultivated  on  her  own  farm.  She  had  cleared  off  heavy  indebt 
edness,  sent  her  children  to  the  university,  and  won  a  position  for 
herself  among  the  capitalists  by  this  culture.  Another  California 
lady  derives  a  handsome  income  from  the  manufacture  of  olive 
oil,  from  trees  of  her  own  raising. 

"  Instances  might  be  indefinitely  multiplied  to  show  that  for 
women  to-day — as  for  men  in  all  the  past — land-ownership  is 
the  '  basis  of  aristocracy/  of  nobility,  in  the  American  sense  of 
the  word.  My  hopes  for  the  advancement  of  women  are 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  so  many  doors  are  now  open  to 
them  into  professional  callings,  and  so  many  facilities  afforded 
for  necessary  training  therein.  It  can  not  be  long  before  the 
Woman's  Industrial  University  shall  be  created,  and  become 
the  model  for  hundreds  of  practical  training-schools  throughout 
the  country." 

Mrs.  Strong,  a  widow,  the  owner  of  a  ranche  on  the 
Merced  River,  has  250  acres  of  cotton  cultivated  by 
Chinamen  on  shares,  not  perhaps  quite  so  fine  as  Missis 
sippi  or  Louisiana  cotton,  but  equal  to  what  is  known 
in  the  New  Orleans  market  as  "  middling."  Mrs. 
Strong  finds  a  ready  sale  for  her  produce  in  San  Fran 
cisco  and  Marysville. 

Mrs.  Rogers,  of  Texas,  has  a  herd  of  40,000  cattle 
on  a  claim  between  the  King  Ranche  and  Corpus 
Christi.  Mr.  Rogers  was  a  preacher  with  seven 
motherless  children  when  he  induced  "the  cattle 
queen  "  to  marry  him,  but  she  gave  him  to  understand 
she  meant  to  "  run  the  ranche,"  and  has  done  so  to 
the  present  hour.  Though  worth  a  million,  and  about 
fifty  years  of  age,  she  lives  in  a  very  humble  way,  and 
goes  herself  on  horseback  every  week  to  Corpus 


MR.    DENNIS    KEARNEY.  265 

Christ!  to  sell  stock  or  purchase  supplies.  I  believe 
that  Mr.  Rogers,  having  been  compelled  by  throat 
trouble  to  give  up  preaching,  is  now  the  Democratic 
member  of  the  Legislature  from  Nueces  County,  and 
Mrs.  Rogers  has  not  only  proved  herself  an  able 
cattle  owner,  but  an  excellent  mother  to  her  step 
children. 

Many  people  throughout  California  complained  to 
me  about  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  good  domestic 
servants,  and  a  few  months  since  I  read  a  letter  in  The 
Times,  signed  by  Mr.  Dennis  Kearney,  saying  that 
any  number  of  English  servants  could  get  good  situ 
ations  at  once,  at  wages  varying  from  £2  los.  to  £7 
a  month.  I  do  not  think  trained  servants,  even  if  we 
could  spare  them,  could  in  any  great  number  find 
comfortable  homes  there,  nor  that  Californian  house 
holders  would  care  to  employ  them.  Domestic  ser 
vice  is  on  such  an  entirely  different  principle  that 
neither  employer  nor  employed  would  be  satisfied. 
The  English  servant  expects  to  keep  an  established 
routine;  she  does  not  care  to  be  a  Jack-of-all-trades, 
but  that  is  the  fate  of  American  servants,  and  the 
reason  why  they  command  such  high  wages.  When 
households  are  organized  on  English  rules,  and  many 
servants  are  kept  in  the  place  of  one  or  two,  wages 
will  certainly  decrease  in  the  same  ratio.  Mr.  Kear 
ney  was  the  leader  of  the  "  Sand  Lots"  agitation  in 
San  Francisco  a  short  time  since,  and  has  now  a  ser 
vants'  registry  office  there.  Anyhow,  his  invitation 
to  English  working-women  must  be  received  with 
some  caution.  Female  emigration  has  to  be  sur 
rounded  with  peculiar  safeguards.  It  is  not  every 
one  who  can  carry  on  such  a  scheme  with  success. 

12 


266  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Mrs.  E.  L.  Blanchard's  work  in  connection  with  Aus 
tralia  and  New  Zealand  would  never  have  attained  its 
present  position  but  for  her  personal  knowledge 
of  the  Colonies  themselves  as  well  as  of  the  women 
she  sends  to  them,  her  untiring  efforts  to  secure  the 
right  people  for  the  right  places,  her  judicious  selec 
tion  of  ships  and  captains,  her  wise  choice  of  matrons, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  the  admirable  provision  she 
makes  for  the  proper  reception  of  emigrants  at  the 
various  ports  abroad. 

I  have  seen  Mrs.  Blanchard  in  her  office  surrounded 
by  those  who  wish  to  emigrate,  and  often  listened  to 
the  information  she  has  given,  amazed  at  the  skill 
and  discrimination  with  which  she  guided  and  se 
lected  her  candidates;  I  have  watched  her  on  board 
the  ships  with  a  bright  look  and  a  kind  smile  for  the 
humblest  emigrant,  giving  them  all  not  only  the  best 
possible  counsel,  but  that  priceless  womanly  sympathy 
which  is  so  unspeakably  valuable  at  such  a  moment. 
Recently,  in  conjunction  with  the  Viscountess  Strang- 
ford,  Mrs.  Blanchard  has  opened  a  home  at  13  Dorset 
Street,  Portman  Square,  where  educated  ladies  can 
reside  while  arrangements  are  being  made  for  their 
passage  and  outfit.  Emigration  under  this  noble 
worker's  auspices  has  indeed  already  proved  a  bless 
ing  to  hundreds  of  English  men  and  women. 

Female  emigration  needs  the  most  careful  manage 
ment  and  wise  supervision.  No  girls  should  be  sent 
abroad  unless  there  is  a  duly  organized  home  for  their 
reception,  and  also  for  their  maintenance  till  suitable 
situations  are  obtained,  and  a  lady  of  well-known 
character  should  always  be  at  the  head  of  such  in 
stitutions. 


NFAV    ZEALAND    FLOWERS.  267 

Mrs.  Blanchard  has  started  a  Loan  Fund  by  which 
she  enables  ladies,  who  can  not  pay  their  own  pass 
age  money,  to  emigrate  to  the  colonies,  where  profita 
ble  work  can  be  obtained  ;  and  she  has  found,  from 
practical  experience,  that  such  help  has  seldom  been 
given  in  vain.  I  have  seen  many  of  the  letters  she  has 
received  from  those  who  could  not  find  employment 
here,  thanking  her  for  their  escape  from  "  privations," 
and  enclosing  sums  toward  the  repayment  of  the 
loan.  A  recent  correspondent  adds :  "  In  a  few 
months'  time,  I  hope  to  place  myself  out  of  debt  alto 
gether,  at  least  monetary  debt ;  my  debt  for  the 
kindness  received  from  you  I  shall  never  be  able  to 
repay."  Another  lady  writes  in  high  spirits  from 
Sydney :  "  Several  of  the  doctors  have  promised 
constant  employment/'  as  they  were  so  pleased  with 
her  diploma;  and  she  adds,  "there  is  a  splendid 
opening  for  trained  nurses  from  London  here.  Any 
one  with  health  and  strength  can  soon  make  money." 

There  are  many  ways  by  which  ladies  can  earn 
money  in  New  Zealand.  For  instance,  Miss  Mete- 
yard,  better  known  as  "  Silverpen,"  sent  me  some 
valuable  hints  in  relation  to  the  employment  of 
women  in  the  distillation  of .  flowers  for  perfumery. 
In  the  north  of  New  Zealand  the  lavender  shrub, 
roses,  and  other  flowers  thrive,  and  women  with  a 
little  capital  and  practical  knowledge  would  find  this 
a  fine  field  for  money-making  and  pleasant  occupation. 

Mr.  C.  White  Mortimer,  the  British  Vice-consul  at 
Los  Angeles,  in  a  very  interesting  communication  to 
Truth,  justly  describes  Southern  California  as  "  a  par 
adise  for  men  who  are  able  and  willing  to  do  manual 
labor." 


268  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  Mechanics  receive  from  125.  to  ^i  per  clay,  and,  owing  to 
the  large  amount  of  building  now  going  on  here,  are  in  demand 
at  those  figures.  The  supply  of  professional  men,  clerks,  book 
keepers,  etc.,  is  greatly  in  excess  of  the  demand.  The  men  who 
are  wanted  here  are  the  laboring  classes,  and  men  who  have 
capital  to  the  amount  of  ^1,000  and  upwards. 

"  There  are  many  occupations  here  which  men  in  delicate 
health,  who  have  some  means,  can  engage  in  ;  bee-keeping,  rais 
ing  poultry,  the  culture  of  the  orange  and  the  vine — these  and 
many  other  similar  occupations  are  enormously  profitable. 
Thousands  of  acres  of  land  are  annually  being  planted  in  grapes 
in  this  section  of  the  country,  and,  notwithstanding  the  enor 
mously  increased  supply,  the  demand  continues  to  keep  pace 
with  it,  and  prices  are  still  more  than  remunerative ;  the  phyl 
loxera  is  unknown  in  Southern  California,  and  will  not  probably 
make  its  appearance,  care  being  now  taken  not  to  impoverish 
the  land  by  planting  the  vines  too  close  together.  As  to  the  pro 
fit  in  grape-farming,  the  following  prices,  which  may  be  relied 
upon,  will  speak  for  themselves.  Cost  of  land,  from  £20  to  ^40 
ptr  acre.  Cost  of  grape-cuttings,  planting  same,  and  cultiva 
tion  for  first  year,  per  acre  £4;  cost  of  cultivation  for  second 
year,  per  acre  ^3.  To  these  amounts  must  be  added  the  taxes 
and  interest  on  the  amount  invested.  The  third  year's  crop, 
after  deducting  working  expenses,  will  net  the  producer  about 
^3  per  acre ;  thereafter  the  yield  annually  increases  until  the 
seventh  or  eighth  year,  when  the  maximum  is  reached.  At  pres 
ent  prices  for  grapes  (^4  per  ton),  vineyards  in  full  bearing  net 
the  owner  from  £20  to  ^40,  and  in  some  cases  as  high  as  ^50 
per  acre  per  annum.  The  working  expenses,  when  the  producer 
hires  all  his  help,  do  not  exceed  ^3  per  acre  per  annum  ;  large 
vineyards  would  not  average  so  much.  Vineyards  in  full  bear 
ing  can  be  purchased  for  about  ^120  per  acre.  The  profit  on 
oranges  is  much  larger  ;  they  do  not,  however,  make  the  pro 
ducer  any  return  for  six  or  seven  years.  The  profit  not  being 
immediate,  persons  planting  orange  orchards  or  vineyards  must 
have  some  capital,  in  addition  to  the  amount  invested  in  the 
land  and  working  expenses.  Farm  lands  in  this  country  have 
increased  in  value  from  50  per  cent,  to  looper  cent,  in  the  last 
two  years,  owing  to  the  large  influx  of  emigrants  in  that  time." 


THE    GEYSERS.  269 

Persons  wishing  to  emigrate  should  have  nothing 
to  do  with  firms  which  advertise  situations  in  return 
for  premiums.  This  fact  can  not  be  impressed  too 
strongly  or  disseminated  too  widely,  for  I  have  known 
many  who  have  greatly  suffered  from  various  decep 
tions  in  this  direction. 

Not  only  is  California  trying  to  solve  the  problem 
how  to  make  the  best  wines,  but  she  hopes  to  rival 
the  Old  World  in  her  mineral  waters.  The  Almaden 
waters  are  bottled  under  the  title  of  "  Californian 
Vichy,"  and  have  valuable  qualities,  and  there  are 
some  famous  mineral  springs  in  the  Santa  Clara  Val- 
ley. 

While  San  Jose"  is  noted  for  her  educational  insti 
tutes,  Santa  Barbara,  nestled  in  a  broad  fertile  valley 
quietly  sloping  to  the  Sea,  Santa  Cruz  and  Monterey, 
are  the  resorts  of  those  who  love  sea  breezes  and  bath 
ing.  Monterey  boasts  a  charming  aesthetic  hotel  in 
its  own  grounds  of  100  acres,  where  oak,  walnut,  pine, 
spruce,  and  cypress  trees  abound,  and  lead  to  one  of 
the  finest  beaches  on  the  coast,  within  four  hours' 
railroad  run  of  San  Francisco.  Calistogo  gathers  the 
invalids  under  her  wing,  thanks  to  her  sulphur,  iron, 
and  magnesia  springs.  At  the  Geysers,  once  the  fa 
vorite  resort  of  the  Indians,  who  greatly  appreciated 
the  healing  properties  of  the  waters,  there  is  still  a 
jet  called  "  The  Indian  Sweating  Bath,"  where  once 
rheumatic  squaws  were  brought  by  thoughtful  hus 
bands,  and  laid  on  a  temporary  grating  to  be  steamed 
till  cured  or  killed  !  These  springs  are  found  along 
the  well-named  Pluton  river ;  here,  too,  is  the  Devil's 
Canyon,  where  Epsom  Salts  are  found  on  the  walls 
in  crystals,  and  boiling,  bubbling  springs  of  alum  and 


270  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

iron  make  the  ground  so  hot  that  it  burns  your  feet 
as  you  pass  along.  The  causes  which  bring  about 
the  wonderful  phenomena  of  the  Geysers  have  been 
frequently  discussed,  and  a  well-known  scientist  once 
aptly  described  this  marvellous  region  as  "  the  chem 
ical  laboratory  of  the  Almighty." 

Our  journey  on  the  Southern  Pacific  was  not  an 
eventful  one.  We  had  already  been  through  the 
Tehachapi  Pass  on  our  way  to  Los  Angeles,  where, 
for  twenty  miles,  the  grade,  including  curvature,  is 
ii6feet  to  the  mile,  and  your  attention  is  equally 
divided  between  the  scenery  of  the  Canyon  and  the 
marvellous  track  itself.  I  am  told  that,  unless  it  be 
the  road  over  the  Styrian  Alps  from  Vienna  to 
Trieste— and  even  there  the  track  does  not  literally 
cross  itself — there  is  nothing  like  it,  in  engineering 
skill,  to  be  seen  in  the  world.  Long  tracts  of  desert 
have  to  be  traversed,  and  the  only  living  thing  is  the 
remarkable  Yucca  Draconis  tree,  something  like  a 
palm  or  cactus ;  the  latter  appears  after  leaving 
Yuma ;  sometimes  it  stands  out  like  a  pillar  in  the 
plains,  20,  30,  and  often  60  feet  high.  In  May  it  is 
covered  with  a  pale  yellow  flower,  which  is  followed 
by  a  fruit  shaped  like  a  small  pear ;  distributed  over 
the  whole  of  Arizona  is  the  prickly  pear  cactus,  with 
sometimes  a  thousand  pears  on  a  single  bush.  Stan- 
wix  is  a  great  lava  bed,  and  all  around  seems  ashes 
and  desolation.  Another  hundred  miles  bring  you 
to  Painted  Rock,  where,  north  of  the  railroad,  are 
huge  boulders  50  feet  high,  covered  with  rude  repre 
sentations,  supposed  to  record  the  battles  between 
the  Yumas,  Cocopahs,  Maricopas,  and  Pinahs.  At 
Tucson  the  houses  are  all  of  adobe  brick  and  one 


MONTEZUMA    HOTEL.  271 

story  high,  and  the  narrow  streets  have  neither  tree 
nor  shrub.  Mexicans  abound  in  Tucson,  and  Spanish 
is  the  language  you  hear  on  all  sides.  Nine  miles 
from  here  is  the  old  mission  of  "  San  Xavier  Del 
Bac."  As  we  entered  New  Mexico  I  was  much  in 
terested  in  the  solitary  riders  to  be  seen  crossing  the 
plains,  which  are  here  often  covered  with  gramma 
and  bunch  grasses,  on  which  the  herds  of  cattle  graze. 
The  riders  were  dressed  after  the  fashion  of  the  pic 
tures  of  Arab  horsemen,  whose  fierce  aspect  used  to 
awe  me  in  the  days  of  my  youth.  Albuquerque  is 
said  to  be  a  typical  Mexican  town,  and  is  certainly  a 
city  of  considerable  importance.  A  few  stations  be 
yond,  we  struck  off  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka,  and 
Santa  Fe  Railroad  for  Las  Vegas — a  health  resort  of 
great  repute,  owing  to  its  hot  springs.  Here  was  the 
celebrated  Montezuma  Hotel,  allowed  by  all  travel 
lers  to  be  the  finest  in  the  West.  Among  other  mat 
ters,  it  advertised  its  special  safety  from  fires.  "  The 
admirable  fire  service  comprised  two  systems :  the 
engines  had  force-pumps  attached,  and  the  house  was 
provided  with  standing-pipes  and  hose-reels  on  every 
floor,  making  it  almost  impossible  for  a  fire  to  do 
serious  damage,  or  get  beyond  the  room  in  which  it 
originated,"  said  the  prospectus.  Two  weeks,  how 
ever,  before  we  arrived,  the  house  was  destroyed  so 
quickly  that  none  of  the  inmates  could  save  any  of 
their  things.  Fortunately  the  fire  broke  out  before 
dinner,  so  no  lives  were  lost,  but  some  Colorado 
friends  of  mine  who  were  staying  at  the  Montezuma 
lost  all  their  clothes.  Here,  and  in  the  neighboring 
Mexican  villages,  you  see  girls  with  Castilian  beauty, 
and  wrinkled  old  women  placidly  sitting  outside  their 


272  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

adobe  huts,  smoking  their  cigarettes.  Less  than  half 
a  day's  journey  by  rail  brings  you  to  the  quaint  old 
Spanish  city  of  Santa  Fe,  containing  very  curious 
relics  of  the  Aztec  occupation  ;  and  the  surrounding 
mountains  are  full  of  minerals,  gold,  silver,  onyx,  and 
agates. 

The  picturesque  half  Spanish  inhabitants  of  New 
Mexico,  with  their  strange  ways  and  customs,  are 
suggestive  of  life  in  the  East.  The  windowless 
houses,  one  story  high,  are  made  of  mud  or  sun-baked 
bricks  of  adobe,  and  entered  by  a  small  door,  which 
takes  you  into  a  potco,  or  open  court,  in  which  the  ani 
mals  live,  and  among  these  small  donkeys  are  a  dis 
tinguishing  feature.  Of  furniture  there  is  none.  Mex 
ican  families  for  the  most  part  sleep  in  blankets  on  the 
ground  (for  they  do  not  always  indulge  in  wooden 
floors),  and  sit  Turkish  fashion.  A  kettle  of  beans 
and  red  peppers,  cooking  on  the  open  fire,  supplies 
their  staple  article  of  food.  The  Aztec  idols,  too, 
have  a  head-dress  like  that  of  the  sphinx  of  Egypt. 
You  see  the  same  kind  of  physiognomy  and  complex 
ion.  Women  wash  by  the  stream  in  Eastern  fashion. 
The  water-carrier  bears  an  enormous  earthen  jar,  slung 
on  the  back,  supported  by  a  strap  over  the  forehead, 
and  it  takes  some  time  to  get  accustomed  to  the 
strange  articles  of  apparel,  especially  the  long  shawl 
called  a  rebozo,  on  the  women,  and  a  blanket,  called 
scrape,  on  the  men.  The  rebozo  is  head-dress,  man 
tilla,  basket,  all  in  one,  for  it  is  used  as  a  covering  and 
to  carry  anything  the  owner  wishes  to  conceal.  The 
men  wrap  their  scrapes  tightly  over  their  arms  when 
the  weather  is  at  all  cold,  and  thus  render  them  even 
more  useless  than  those  of  a  fashionable  lady  in  a  tight 


KANSAS.  273 

dolman.  Their  shoes,  too,  are  a  study.  Many  only 
wear  a  piece  of  leather  strapped  to  the  foot.  The 
palm-tree  is  alone  needed  to  complete  an  Oriental 
picture. 

When  I  left  the  mild  climate  of  sunny  Mexico,  I 
soon  found  myself  in  the  regions  of  snow  and  ice 
again.  After  a  short  stay  in  Pueblo,  we  passed  one 
thriving  town  after  another  as  we  followed  the  wind 
ings  of  the  Arkansas — a  change  indeed  from  the  days 
when  the  riotous  Kansas  cowboys  used  to  ride  up 
from  their  cattle  ranches  with  pistols  in  both  hands, 
which  they  would  fire  as  they  galloped  through  the 
streets  and  cleared  the  town  !  Peace  and  order  now 
prevail ;  school-houses  abound,  and  prosperity  has  been 
insured  by  the  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  F£  Rail 
road,  which  brought  civilization  into  the  heart  of  this 
rich  country.  The  dry  plains  and  the  prairie  grass 
have  been  transformed  into  fields  of  corn,  and  to-day 
Kansas  stands  to  the  front  among  the  agricultural 
States.  At  Manhattan  there  is  an  excellent  State  In 
dustrial  College,  which  affords  a  complete  course  of 
great  practical  value.  The  Makin  Ranche,  owned  by 
some  young  Englishmen  from  Liverpool,  is  well  worth 
a  visit  from  those  interested  in  stock-raising;  and  Mr. 
G.  H.  Wadsworth,  who  has  a  splendid  farm  in  Paw 
nee  County,  says  he  considers  Kansas  better  than  any 
other  State  for  the  wool  business.  All  that  is  now 
wanted  is  population,  and  settlers  are  really  invited, 
not  to  the  difficulties  of  pioneer  life,  but  to  a  land 
which  is  fruitful  in  many  directions. 

For  those  who  like  out-of-door  life  and  cattle  rais 
ing,  Kansas  undoubtedly  offers  a  good  opening  at  the 
present  time.  There  are  still  3,000,000  acres  of  land 

12* 


274  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

in  the  Arkansas  Valley  for  sale,  at  from  one  to  ten 
pounds  an  acre,  the  prices  being  regulated  by  the 
quality  of  the  land  and  the  distance  from  a  railroad 
depot,  and  the  Homestead  Law  still  gives  a  settler,  on 
condition  of  a  five  years'  residence,  160  acres  at  a  fee 
of  twenty  dollars  to  the  land  office,  but  it  is  found 
better  to  purchase  land  near  the  railroads  than  to  ac 
cept  a  grant  of  land  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
one. 

The  Union  Depot  in  Kansas  City  presents  a  busy 
and  confusing  scene.  The  first  time  I  stopped  there 
I  thought  I  had  fallen  upon  some  special  day,  but 
subsequent  visits  proved  to  me  that  it  was  simply 
wearing  its  usual  aspect.  The  waiting-rooms  are  in 
variably  crowded,  and  if  you  have  to  travel  by  a  train 
which  discards  the  use  of  a  Pullman  carriage,  your 
lot  is  not  an  enviable  one,  unless  indeed  you  wish  to 
study  life  in  its  very  roughest  phases. 

The  live-stock  trade  of  Kansas  City  was  estimated 
at  65,000,000  dollars  for  the  year  1882.  Seven  hun 
dred  head  of  Scotch  cattle  were  imported  by  one 
firm  last  year;  their  thick,  heavy  hides  make  them 
great  favorites  on  the  plains,  as  they  resist  the  storms 
which  sometimes  prove  so  fatal  there.  In  fact,  now 
that  the  financial  cloud  has  lifted,  immigration  to 
Kansas  means  prosperity,  if  the  settler  is  gifted  with 
that  rare  quality  which  Americans  designate  as 
"  snap."  Men  without  energy  will  experience  as 
much  disappointment  in  the  New  World  as  in  Europe, 
but  those  who  are  prepared  to  take  proper  advantage 
of  the  resources  America  affords  can  not  fail  to  com 
mand  success.  They  find  there  five  times  as  many 
acres  of  fertile  land  as  in  Europe,  five  times  as  many 


WYOMING. 

miles  of  railroad,  telegraph  and  telephone  lines,  five 
times  as  many  steam-engines,  mowing,  reaping,  and 
threshing  machines,  and  ten  times  as  much  coal, 
which  means  mechanical  power,  manufacturing  pro 
duction,  and  industrial  wealth.  The  United  States 
has  an  acknowledged  leadership  in  inventive  genius, 
and  as  Dr.  Hittell  observes,  "  These  are  the  arms  with 
which  the  struggle  for  life  in  the  battle  of  the  future 
is  to  be  fought." 

Kansas  must  look  to  its  laurels  as  a  great  cattle 
market,  for  in  Wyoming  there  are  thousands  of  miles 
of  the  cheapest  grazing  land  in  the  world.  Efforts 
are  now  being  made  to  import  young  stock  to  Eng 
land,  as  the  cattle  can  be  reared  at  a  small  cost  in  the 
northwestern  territory,  though  it  can  not  be  fattened 
there  as  well  as  here.  The  Canadian  authorities 
make  no  difficulty  about  allowing  the  cattle  to  pass 
through  that  country,  which  is  a  test  that  no  danger 
is  feared  in  the  dominion  of  the  pleuro-pneumonia 
which  sometimes  proves  so  fatal  in  the  Eastern 
States.  While  Mr.  Frewen  is  thus  fighting  for  Wy 
oming,  Mr.  Hugh  A.  Fergusson  is  anxious  to  promote 
the  importation  of  young  cattle  from  Texas  and  New 
Mexico,  and  states  that  it  will  be  impolitic  to  admit 
one  State  more  than  another,  that  the  importation  of 
young  stock  from  America  would  certainly  enable  the 
English  farmer  to  realize  a  higher  profit  out  of  his 
land  and  cattle  than  he  can  at  present.  "  We  will," 
says  Mr.  Frewen,  "  rear  millions  upon  millions  of 
store  cattle,  and  then  send  the  lean  but  full-grown 
stock  back  to  the  homes  of  their  ancestors  to  be  fin 
ished  artistically  for  your  market.  We  will  breed 


276  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

and  rear  for  three  or  four  years  the  young  stock, 
which  you  will  fatten  off  in  from  ten  to  twenty  weeks. 
That  is  all  that  your  farmers  will  have  to  do  in  the 
production  of  beef.  The  slow  process  of  growth  will 
go  on  in  regions  where  land  can  be  had  for  next  to 
nothing.  The  rapid  process  of  forcing  will  take  place 
under  conditions  which  enable  it  to  be  performed  at 
a  maximum  of  speed." 

I  greatly  enjoyed  my  visit  to  the  Kansas  State 
University,  which  is  situated  at  Laurence,  with  its 
splendid  lecture  hall  holding  1,500  people,  crowded 
with  a  most  agreeable  audience  the  night  I  lectured 
there,  notwithstanding  a  wind  that  nearly  blew  the 
carriage  over  as  I  drove  up  Mount  Oread,  on  the 
summit  of  which  the  handsome  building  stands.  In 
the  natural  history  department  there  are  more  than  a 
hundred  thousand  specimens  of  beasts,  birds,  and  in 
sects  representing  the  animal  life  of  the  great  Missis 
sippi  valley ;  there  is  also  a  fine  laboratory  and  a  rap 
idly  improving  library.  The  newly-appointed  Chan 
cellor,  Dr.  Lippincolt,  is  a  clear-headed,  cultured  man, 
in  whose  hands  its  future  is  secured. 

Topeka  has  one  of  the  handsomest  free  libraries  I 
saw  in  America,  erected  by  some  of  the  rich  men  con 
nected  with  the  railroad.  There  is  a  large,  comfort 
able  reading-room,  and  the  residents  are  also  allowed 
to  take  books  home.  The  interior  of  the  building  is 
fitted  up  witli  excellent  taste,  and  the  lecture  hall  has 
a  model  stage,  which  made  me  think  of  the  Haymar- 
ket  Theatre  under  the  Bancroft  rule.  Thanks  to  Mr. 
Wilder — a  descendant  of  the  Berkshire  Wilders — this 
hall  is  filled  with  choice  engravings  and  etchings, 


TOPEKA.  277 

which  he  has  lent  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-towns 
men.  Sometimes  it  is  hired  for  an  assembly  ball,  and 
many  pleasant  dances  have  been  enjoyed  this  winter 
on  that  polished  floor.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
this  is  Kansas— till  recently  the  home  of  the  prairie 
dog,  rattlesnake,  and  buffalo  ! 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Divorce — Journalistic  announcements,  advertisements,  and  para 
graphs — Two  strange  divorces  followed  by  remarriages — Di 
vorces  traced  by  the  American  pres^  to  the  increase  of  mer 
cenary  marriages — Dr.  Dwinell's  statistics — Chief-Justice  Noah 
Davis  at  the  Nineteenth  Century  Club  Meeting  on  divorce — Mr. 
Charles  Stuart  Welles— The  French  Law— The  moral  effect 
of  the  Divorce  Court  in  England — The  Rev.  Robert  Collyer. 

THERE  are  many  journalistic  head -lines  which 
strike  the  English  reader  of  American  newspapers 
with  considerable  amazement,  but  none  have  ap 
peared  to  me  more  singular,  or  more  indicative  of 
the  popular  sentiment  on  the  subject  with  which  they 
deal,  than  the  extraordinary  headings  to  the  columns 
devoted  to  information  respecting  divorce  cases. 

"  Untying  Wedding  Knots,"  for  example,  at  once 
carries  with  it  the  idea  that  an  element  of  positive 
festivity  mingles  with  the  dissolution  of  the  ties  that 
bound  two  people  together  in  holy  matrimony,  in  the 
presence  of  admiring  friends  and  hopeful  bridesmaids, 
while  the  "  Divorce  Mill"  points  significantly  to  the 
vast  amount  of  business  carried  on  by  those  entitled 
to  divide  married  couples,  to  say  nothing  of  sub-head 
ings,  "  Separated  for  life  in  forty  minutes,"  or  "  Three 
matrimonial  smash-ups,"  which  betokens  a  levity 
strangely  out  of  place  while  dealing  with  a  matter  of 
such  grave  import. 

Not  only  do  you  find  under  " legal  notices"  such 
(278) 


JOURNALISTIC    PARAGRAPHS.  279 

standing  advertisements  as  the  following  in  New 
York  newspapers : 

ABSOLUTE    DIVORCES,    QUIETLY,    WITHIN    A 
month;   incompatibility,  all  causes;   legal  everywhere;  no 
money  required  until  granted. 

M A ,  —  Broadway. 

A  BSOLUTEX  DIVORCES,    QUIETLY;    ALL    CAUSES; 
any  State  ;  consultation  free  ;  terms  easy. 

W.  L.  B ,  —  Broadway,  Suit  8. 

A  BSOLUTE    DIVORCES,    CHEAPLY,  QUICKLY,  QUI- 
etly  ;  for  any  cause.  M C ,  —  Broadway. 

but  you  frequently  meet  with  paragraphs  similar  to 
the  specimens  selected  from  daily  papers  of  repute  in 
the  United  States : 

"  There  was  a  lively  race  between  the  divorce  decrees  and  the 
marriage  licenses  on  Saturday,  and  the  divorce  record  came  out 
ahead.  There  were  issued  fifty-one  decrees  of  divorce,  and  only 
forty-three  marriage  licenses.  This  will  not  do.  Cupid  must 
'  whoop  up  '  his  forces  and  make  a  better  showing." 

"  Clergymen  complain  that  their  marriage  fees  are  not  so  heavy 
as  they  once  were.  But  clergymen  should  remember  that  they 
don't  succeed  in  tying  the  knot  so  firmly  as  formerly.  Where  is 
the  use  of  emptying  your  purse  into  the  minister's  pocket,  when 
the  chances  are  that  the  divorce  lawyer  will  be  along  in  a  year  or 
two  and  untie  the  knot  whose  tying  has  cost  you  so  dearly." 

"  The  minister  who  ties  the  connubial  knot  gets  a  fee  varying 
from  2  dollars  to  50  dollars  ;  the  lawyer  who  unties  it  charges 
from  100  dollars  to  500  dollars.  Which  only  means  that  every 
body  has  to  pay  more  to  get  out  of  trouble  than  to  get  into  it. 
Don't  be  finding  fault  with  matters  of  course." 

"  Seven  fashionable  marriages  in  one  day  are  described  mi 
nutely  in  the  New  York  papers.  According  to  the  statisticians 
there  ought  to  be  at  least  two  divorce  cases  arising  out  of  these 
in  the  next  year  or  two." 


28O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

The  possibility  of  such  extraordinary  paragraphs 
in  the  daily  papers  shows  too  clearly  the  condition  of 
matters  in  this  direction,  and  inclines  one  to  think 
there  is  some  truth,  after  all,  in  the  old  story  of  the 
railway  porter's  announcement  as  the  train  stops  at  a 
depot  in  Indiana,  "  Ten  minutes  for  refreshment  and 
five  for  divorces."  Incredible  as  it  may  appear,  I  quote 
almost  verbatim  the  extraordinary  announcement 
made  by  a  member  of  a  very  much  divorced  family. 
She  was  complaining  to  me  about  an  engagement  her 
daughter  had  made  without  her  sanction.  She  re 
marked  :  "And  the  worst  is,  that  the  young  man's  fam 
ily  don't  like  it  either,  so  I  thought  I  would  fix  that  very 
quickly.  I  told  Frank  to  bring  his  mother  to  see  me. 
So,  marm,  said  I,  your  Frank  and  my  Molly  think 
they're  in  love  with  each  other.  Well,  my  father  and 
mother  were  divorced,  I  am  divorced  from  my  hus 
band,  my  three  elder  girls  are  all  married  and  divorced, 
and  I  guess  Molly  will  know  how  to  do  the  same,  if 
Frank  doesn't  suit  her."  This  wholesale  method  of 
relief  from  uncongenial  matrimonial  speculations  per 
haps  explains  why  a  certain  column  devoted  to  the 
announcements,  in  which  ladies  are  supposed  to  take 
special  interest,  in  some  Western  newspapers,  have  an 
addition  which  is  at  present  unknown  in  English 
journals.  The  notices  run  thus  :  Births,  Marriages, 
Divorces,  Deaths. 

I  heard  of  two  very  singular  divorces  followed  by 
remarriages  while  I  was  travelling  in  the  United 
States;  in  both  cases  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
husbands  appear  to  the  best  advantage.  The  wife  of 
a  well-known  Western  millionaire,  whose  name  I  will 
not  give  for  obvious  reasons,  was  induced  by  evil 


DIVORCES    AND    REMARRIAGES.  28 1 

counsels  to  sue  for  a  divorce  in  the  early  part  of  1883. 
The  husband  did  not  even  contest  it,  but  as  the  news 
papers  had  published  many  versions  of  the  story,  he 
issued  what  is  called  in  America  "a  card,"  which  bore 
his  signature  and  ran  as  follows  : 

"  I  am  willing  to  bear  all  the  odium  which  the  public,  in  igno 
rance  of  the  real  facts,  may  choose  to  cast  on  me  ;  but  my  regret 
is  for  my  wife,  whose  name  has  been  improperly  associated  and 
incorporated  in  dispatches  transmitted  all  over  the  country. 
Now,  as  always,  my  desire  has  been  to  do  that  which  would  con 
tribute  to  the  happiness  of  my  wife  and  children.  If  I  have  in 
any  way  failed,  God  knows  it  has  not  been  prompted  by  a  desire 
to  do  so.  Now,  as  ever,  I  want  that  which  will  best  contribute 
to  the  happiness  of  my  family.  If  my  wife  thinks  a  separation 
will  contribute  to  her  further  happiness,  then  her  mind  and  mine 
are  alike.  I  have  done  nothing  to  merit  the  obloquy  cast  upon 
me.  Those  who  best  know  me  will  tell  you  what  my  desires 
are.  I  repeat  that  in  this  matter  with  my  wife,  which  has  been 
made  so  public,  I  have  nothing  to  say  further  than  that  it  pains 
me  to  see  her  name  and  mine  associated  with  such  dastardly 
and  vindictive  dispatches  as  have  gone  forth  to  the  world.  I 
am  the  man,  she  is  the  woman,  and  in  these  relations  I  will 
shield  her  name  at  every  point  in  my  power." 

The  divorce  was  granted,  and  the  wife  led  a  retired 
life,  quietly  devoting  herself  to  the  education  of  her 
children,  and  to  good  works  of  various  kinds.  The 
decree  gave  her  a  handsome  city  residence  and  a  very 
liberal  income.  This  spring,  a  complete  reconcilia 
tion  having  been  effected,  the  divorced  couple  were 
once  again  reunited  in  marriage. 

The  other  story  is  stranger  and  far  more  tragic. 
Among  the  death  notices  in  a  Southern  paper  last 
December  were  the  following  announcements  on  the 
same  day : 


282  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  TINER. — On  the  5th  inst.,  of  pneumonia,  A.  S.  Tiner,  aged 
41  years. 

"  TINER.— On  the  5th  inst.,  of  scarlet  faver,  Etta  V.,  only  child 
of  A.  S.  and  Eliza  G.  Tiner,  aged  5  years. 

"  TINER.— On  the  6th  inst.,  Eliza  G.  Tiner,  wife  of  the  late  A. 
S.  Tiner." 

The  newspapers  gave  the  full  details  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Tiner's  remarkable  history.  Sixteen  years  be 
fore,  Mr.  Tiner  had  lived  in  the  same  town  as  a 
merchant  named  Gates.  He  was  a  widower  with  an 
only  child  ;  a  stern,  ambitious  man,  who  not  only  re 
fused  to  allow  his  daughter  to  marry  the  young  clerk 
to  whom  she  was  attached,  but  forced  her  into  an 
uncongenial  marriage  with  the  rich  miller  Tiner. 
Very  shortly  after  the  marriage,  Mrs.  Tiner  eloped 
with  the  clerk,  and  all  trace  of  them  was  lost.  In 
course  of  time  her  father  died,  and  left  his  property 
to  the  forsaken  son-in-law.  Shortly  after  this  Tiner 
obtained  a  divorce  from  his  fugitive  wife  and  remar 
ried.  The  second  Mrs.  Tiner,  however,  did  not  long 
survive  the  birth  of  her  first  child.  A  few  years 
later,  the  miserable  wanderer,  not  knowing  of  her 
father's  death,  wrote  to  implore  his  forgiveness.  She 
had  been  married  in  another  State  to  the  lover  of  her 
youth,  but  after  a  while  he  had  ill-treated  her,  and 
finally  joined  the  Mormons,  where  he  took  unto  him 
self  another  helpmate.  Then  the  poor  woman,  who 
had  sacrificed  everything  for  his  sake,  fled  from  him, 
and  after  a  long,  weary  struggle  with  sickness  and 
poverty,  she  piteously  turned  to  her  father  for  help 
and  pardon.  Mr.  Gates  being  dead,  the  letter  found 
its  way  to  the  wronged  husband,  who  immediately 
went  to  seek  the  repentant  woman.  He  not  only 


DIVORCES    IN    THE    SOUTH.  283 

arranged  for  her  divorce  from  Mills,  but  remarried 
her  just  ten  years  after  she  had  run  away  from  him. 
But  her  shattered  system  never  recovered,  and  when 
the  terrible  trial  came  of  losing  on  the  same  day  her 
child  from  scarlet  fever  and  her  husband  from  pneu 
monia,  her  strength  failed  her,  and  she  only  outlived 
them  by  a  few  hours. 

Americans  repudiate  the  charge  of  the  English 
press  that  the  increase  of  divorces  is  "  due  to  the 
growth  of  licentiousness."  The  desire  for  position 
or  need  of  support  drive  many  girls  into  hasty,  un 
congenial  marriages,  and  a  bad  beginning  often  makes 
a  bad  ending.  The  real  evil  is  that  "  our  young  girls 
are  tempted  to  marry  for  money  and  position,  just  as 
the  politician  is  tempted  to  sell  his  vote,  or  the  clergy 
man  his  opinions,"  says  a  leading  paper.  "  The  trouble 
lies  in  the  false  marriages  of  well-to-do  fashionable 
folk  whose  victims  seek  remedy  in  divorce.  The 
marriages  are  false  because  our  young  people  of  a 
certain  class  are  more  greedy  for  money,  position,  and 
show,  than  for  genuine  love  and  happiness.  This  is, 
doubtless,  the  tritest  of  platitudes,  but  it  is  one  which 
is  now  left  wholly  out  of  sight  in  too  many  weddings 
— especially  in  our  cities.  Divorces,  we  are  told,  are 
less  common  in  the  South  than  in  the  North.  Why? 
Not  because  the  moral  tone  of  the  people  there  is 
purer,  or  their  Christian  faith  higher,  but  because  in 
the  less  concentrated,  plainer,  poorer  phases  of  social 
life  in  that  section  there  is  less  temptation  to  merce 
nary  marriage.  It  is  probably  true,  as  we  often  hear 
asserted,  that  among  those  who,  according  to  the 
common  phrase,  married  for  love,  there  are  a  large 
minority  of  unhappy  people.  But  usually  they  bear 


284  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

their  unhappiness  to  the  end.  They  entered  into  do 
mestic  life  with  the  sense  of  a  duty  to  be  discharged 
between  human  beings  ;  it  was  not  a  mere  partnership 
of  purses,  to  be  thrown  up  for  the  first  whim  or  dis 
comfort." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Dwinell,  of  Sacramento,  may  well  view 
"  the  greater  freedom  of  divorce  as  one  of  the  deplor 
able  tendencies  of  the  times."  In  most  of  the  States 
divorces  have  increased  rapidly  for  the  last  quarter  of 
a  century,  and  in  California  the  number  of  divorces, 
as  compared  with  the  number  of  marriages,  is  fear 
fully  large,  most  of  them  averaging  more  than  one 
divorce  to  every  ten  marriages,  and  some  counties 
more  than  one  to  every  five.  Marin  is  the  banner 
county  for  divorces,  which  average  there  nearly  one- 
half  as  many  as  the  marriages.  After  a  domestic 
breeze  the  Eastern  husband  lights  his  cigar  and  goes 
to  the  club  till  the  storm  is  over,  the  Western  man 
puts  on  his  hat  and  goes  to  his  lawyer.  But  even  in 
Maine,  where  the  temperance  laws  prevail,  there  were 
478  divorces  in  1878,  in  New  Hampshire  241,  in  Ver 
mont  197,  in  Massachusetts  600,  in  Connecticut  501, 
and  in  Rhode  Island  106,  making  a  total  of  2,1 13,  and 
I  am  told  the  last  returns  show  a  considerable  increase 
of  divorces. 

At  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 
Club  last  spring,  held  at  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Courtlandt 
Palmer's  house  in  New  York,  Chief-Justice  Noah 
Davis  read  a  very  interesting  paper  on  "  Marriage  and 
Divorce."  He  asserted  that  it  would  be  better  if 
there  were  no  possibility  of  divorce  at  all,  rather  than 
the  present  loose  system."  '*  The  subject  of  mar 
riage,"  he  continued,  "  is  so  interwoven  with  the  public 


OFT'HE  \\ 

UNIVERSITY  )) 


CONFLICTING    DIVORCE    LAWS.  285 

interest  that  the  State  must,  as  a  matter  of  self-pro 
tection,  take  it  into  its  charge  by  provisions  of  laws 
enacted  for  its  control  and  protection.  The  question 
at  once  suggests  itself  whether  it  should  be  treated  as 
a  religious  or  as  a  secular  institution,  or  as  one  com 
bining  both.  For  my  own  part,  I  confess  to  a  leaning 
towards  the  religious  side  of  the  question,  because  I 
think  it  tends  to  make  the  contract  regarded  with 
solemnity  and  awe.  But  in  our  country,  where  no 
State  religion  does  or  can  exist,  it  is  perhaps  wiser  that 
the  State  should  recognize  the  formation  of  marriage 
as  a  simple  contract,  which  may  be  entered  into  by  all 
persons  who  are  free  from  all  legal,  mental,  and  phys 
ical  disabilities.  That  is  the  law  of  the  State  of  New 
York." 

Speaking  of  divorces,  Justice  Davis  regretted  the 
ease  with  which  they  are  procured  in  many  States, 
and  held  that  the  more  lax  the  laws  in  this  respect 
the  more  lightly  would  unsuitable  marriages  be,  and 
the  more  frequent  would  be  the  cases  of  unhappy 
unions.  He  called  attention  to  the  conflicting  laws  of 
the  different  States  on  this  subject — from  South 
Carolina,  where  divorce  is  permissible  under  no  cir 
cumstances,  to  Indiana  and  Connecticut,  where  divorce 
is  so  easy  that  a  cause  can  always  be  found.  In  New 
York  State  200  years  ago  divorce  was  not  permitted, 
and  it  would  be  absurd  to  say  that  there  was  more 
domestic  unhappiness  then  than  now.  After  showing 
the  ease  with  which  divorces  can  be  procured  legally 
in  many  parts  of  the  country,  Justice  Davis  spoke  of 
fraudulent  divorces.  But  if  this  can  be  done  by  will 
ing  parties,  said  the  speaker,  what  can  not  be  done  by 
fraudulent  ones?  The  frauds  are  mostly  perpetrated 


286  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

on  wives,  but  Eve's  adroitness  is  not  always  at  a  loss 
to  commend  the  fruit  to  the  lips  of  Adam.  The 
courts  strive  to  guard  against  such  wrongs,  but  their 
very  safeguards  are  sometimes  made  the  weapons  of 
fraud,  and  this  especially  where  the  proceeding  is  in 
stigated  by  a  desire  to  marry  somebody  else. 

But  the  greatest  evil  in  America  grows  out  of  the 
differing  laws  of  the  several  States  touching  the 
grounds  and  effects  of  divorce.  All  who  think  upon 
the  subject  will  agree  that  uniformity  of  the  grounds 
of  divorce  ought  to  exist  throughout  all  the  States. 
This  alone  will  prevent  the  incessant  hegira  from  State 
to  State  of  persons  seeking  to  escape  the  bonds  of 
matrimony,  and  that  vast  procession  of  evils  that  fol 
low  such  efforts.  It  is  a  monstrous  fact  that  a  person 
can  leave  the  State  of  his  residence  and  in  a  brief  time 
obtain  in  the  courts  of  another  State  a  decree  of 
divorce  entirely  valid  in  that  State,  but  absolutely 
void  in  the  courts  of  other  States.  His  remarriage  is 
lawful  there  ;  it  is  felony  elsewhere,  and  his  guilt  or 
innocence  depends  upon  which  side  of  an  imaginary 
State  line  he  happens  to  stand.  This  would  be  less 
important  if  the  status  of  his  wife  and  children,  past, 
present,  and  future,  were  not  to  be  seriously  affected 
by  the  decree. 

Justice  Davis  illustrated  his  argument  by  the  fol 
lowing  case  : 

"  A  is  married  in  New  York,  where  he  has  resided  for  years, 
and  has  a  family,  and  is  the  owner  of  real  and  other  estate.  He 
desires  divorce,  and  goes  to  Indiana,  where  that  thing  is  cheap 
and  easy.  Upon  complying  with  some  local  rule,  and  with  no 
actual  notice  to  his  wife,  he  gets  a  decree  of  divorce,  and  pres 
ently  is  married  in  that  State  to  another  wife,  who  brings  him 


JUSTICE    DAVIS.  287 

other  children.  He  again  acquires  new  estates,  but,  tiring  of  his 
second  wife,  he  deserts  her  and  goes  to  California,  where,  in  a 
brief  space,  he  is  again  divorced,  and  then  marries  again,  starting 
a  new  family,  and  acquiring  new  real  and  personal  estates.  In  a 
few  years  his  fickle  taste  changes  again,  and  he  returns  to  New 
York,  where  he  finds  his  first  wife  has  obtained  a  valid  divorce 
for  his  marriage  in  Indiana,  which  sets  her  free,  and  forbids  his 
marrying  again  in  her  lifetime.  He  then  slips  into  Connecticut, 
takes  a  residence,  acquires  real  property  there,  and  gets  judicially 
freed  from  his  California  bonds.  He  returns  hither,  takes  some 
new  affinity,  crosses  the  New  Jersey  line,  and  in  an  hour  is  back 
in  New  York,  enjoying  so  much  of  his  estate  as  the  courts  have 
not  adjudged  to  his  first  wife,  and  gives  new  children  to  the 
world.  At  length  his  Master  calls  him.  He  dies  intestate.  Now, 
what  is  the  legal  status  and  condition  of  the  various  citizens  he 
has  given  to  our  common  country?  The  first  wife's  children  are 
legitimate,  and  heirs  to  his  estate  everywhere.  The  Indiana 
wife's  children  are  legitimate  there,  and  in  New  York  (that  mar 
riage  having  taken  place  after  his  first  wife  had  obtained  her 
divorce),  but  illegitimate  in  Indiana  and  elsewhere,  while  the 
second  crop  of  New  Yorkers  are  legitimate  in  Connecticut  and 
New  York,  illegitimate  in  Indiana  and  California.  There  is  real 
and  personal  property  in  each  of  these  States.  There  are  four 
widows,  each  entitled  to  dower  somewhere,  and  to  some  extent, 
and  a  large  number  of  surely  innocent  children,  whose  legitimacy 
and  property  are  at  stake.  And  all  these  legal  embarrassments 
spring  from  want  of  uniformity  of  laws  on  a  subject  which  should 
admit  of  no  more  diversity  than  the  question  of  citizenship  itself." 

Mr.  Charles  Stuart  Welles,  in  lecturing  last  March 
before  the  Manhattan  Liberal  Club  on  "  The  New 
Marriage,  or  Uniform  Marriage  Laws,"  said,  "  The 
polygamy  of  Utah  is  simultaneous,  and  of  New  York 
consecutive.  New  York  is  supposed  to  have  a  mo- 
nogamic  law,  but  instead  she  has  an  unlicensed  polyg 
amy." 

People  have  recently  been  questioning  in  England 


288  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  moral  effect  of  the  comparative  ease  with  which 
divorces  can  now  be  obtained  here,  and  many  have 
emphatically  pronounced  the  divorce  court  a  disas 
trous  failure.  They  believe  it  undoubtedly  tempts 
people  to  reckless  marriages,  light  regard  of  the  mar 
riage  tie,  and  positive  collusions.  The  Act  has  now 
been  in  operation  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  it  has 
certainly  done  more  to  corrupt  society  in  that  time 
than  any  other  agency  in  twice  the  same  number  of 
years. 

"  Lightly  come  by,  lightly  held,"  is  a  proverb  that 
simply  expresses  a  fact  in  human  nature,  and  not  less 
true  is  this,  which  might  be  added  as  a  pendant, 
"  Lightly  rid  of,  lightly  held."  We  see  this  in  every 
relation  in  life.  It  is  only  the  minority,  or,  as  Matthew 
Arnold  would  express  it,  "  the  remnant,"  that  will 
cling  to  duties  and  responsibilities  that  are  not  en 
forced  by  public  opinion.  Not  that  the  mind  yields 
unwilling  obedience  to  a  code  against  which  it  rebels, 
but  a  duty  considered  binding  by  public  opinion,  en 
shrined  in  the  statutes  of  the  law,  acquires  a  vast 
moral  force.  If  the  law  released  parents  from  the 
obligation  to  provide  for  their  children,  I  question  if 
a  few  years  would  not  show  a  terrible  falling  off  in 
the  sense  of  parental  responsibility.  Yet  this  would 
be  less  mischievous  than  the  facility  afforded  for 
breaking  through  marriage  ties,  for  natural  affection 
goes  a  long  way  in  one  case,  but  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  other.  No  legal  obligation  compels  parents 
to  provide  for  children  in  the  event  of  their  own 
death.  Let  me  ask  how  many  parents  ever  trouble 
their  heads  about  their  moral  obligations  in  this  direc 
tion  ?  Yet  those  who  are  helping  the  victims  of  such 


THE    DIVORCE    COURT.  289 

neglect  could  give  some  appalling  proofs  of  what  is 
entailed  on  their  daughters  by  this  reckless  disregard 
of  an  unenforced  but  no  less  sacred  duty.  "  To  give 
life  to  a  sentient  being,"  writes  Gail  Hamilton,  "  with 
out  being  able  to  make  provision  to  turn  life  to  the 
best  account ;  to  give  life,  careless  whether  it  will  be 
bane  or  boon  to  its  recipient,  is  the  sin  of  sins.  Every 
other  sin  mars  what  it  finds  :  this  makes  what  it  mars." 

A  stronger  moral  sense  is  needed  than  the  majority 
of  people  possess,  to  induce  the  necessary  forbearance 
in  married  life,  when  that  alluring  divorce  court  is 
so  handy — ready,  only  too  ready — to  set  the  captive 
free.  Many  a  disagreement  would  be  patched  up, 
many  a  couple  would  learn  to  "  bear  and  forbear,"  if 
they  knew  that,  come  what  might,  they  must  make 
up  their  minds  to  put  up  with  each  other's  foibles, 
and  make  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain. 

Even  when  the  divorce  court  is  not  deliberately 
reckoned  on,  it  is  there !  The  very  word  "  indis 
soluble,"  as  applied  to  matrimony,  now  sounds  absurd, 
and  should  be  left  out  of  the  marriage  service.  It  is 
impossible  to  mix  in  society,  or  read  any  newspapers, 
and  not  recognize  that  matrimony  is  regarded  in  quite 
a  different  light  in  the  nineteenth  century.  Loudest 
of  all  speak  the  repulsive  records  of  the  court  itself, 
which  is  an  "  Augean  stable  "  no  rivers  could  cleanse. 
England  has  lately  witnessed  the  representatives  of 
ancient  families,  the  bearers  of  historic  titles  on  whom 
should  rest  some  sense  of  the  responsibility  entailed 
by  their  position,  dragging  down  time-honored  names 
into  the  dust,  and  exposing  without  shame  the  degra 
dation  of  their  lives  before  a  vulgar  prurient  public. 

Twenty  years  ago  no  minister  of  religion  would 
13 


THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

have  dared  to  appear  as  plaintiff  in  a  divorce  case. 
Lately,  we  have  seen  in  London  a  popular  preacher 
standing  up  in  open  court,  declaring,  without  a  blush, 
that,  when  freed  from  the  wife  then  bearing  his  name, 
he  intended  to  marry  again.  The  matter  had  been 
already  arranged ! 

No  wonder  that  the  lip  curves  involuntarily  in  read 
ing  of  the  husband  of  romantic  fiction  who  hides  the 
wound  to  his  honor  which  the  husband  of  real  life  is 
so  ready  to  expose  to  the  public  gaze.  But  while  a 
large  section  of  the  English  people  deprecate  the  re 
sult  of  divorces,  there  seems  no  indication  of  a  desire 
to  take  any  serious  steps  to  prevent  the  evil  from 
spreading.  In  Scotland  the  increasing  frequency  with 
which  divorces  are  obtained  is  viewed  with  grave 
anxiety.  At  the  last  session  the  Judges  of  the  Edin- 
borough  Court  separated  half  a  dozen  or  more  couples 
a  day,  "  four  pairs,"  writes  the  Evening  News,  "  being 
put  asunder  in  the  brief  space  of  ninety  minutes — a 
rapid  manner  of  doing  business,  which  has  a  decidedly 
American  air."  As  with  an  individual  so  with  the 
State  ;  nothing  is  more  difficult  to  redeem  than  moral 
defection.  Once  open  the  floodgates  and  it  may  be 
impossible  to  close  them  again. 

Look  at  the  eagerness  recently  exhibited  in  France 
to  take  advantage  of  the  new  divorce  law  just  intro 
duced.  Up  to  this  summer,  although  judicial  sepa 
rations  could  be  obtained,  divorce  was  practically 
impossible.  Directly  the  new  law  came  into  opera 
tion  there  were  several  thousand  applications  in  Paris 
alone !  This  French  Act  not  only  allows  of  the 
utmost  freedom  with  regard  to  remarriage,  but  per 
mits  a  dissolution  of  the  tie  for  acts  which  throw  dis- 


GROWTH    OF    THE    DIVORCE    EVIL.  29 1 

credit  upon  either  husband  or  wife,  such  as  habitual 
drunkenness,  imprisonment  for  theft,  expulsion  from 
society  for  cheating  at  cards,  or  from  the  Army,  Navy, 
or  legal  profession,  for  any  dishonest  action.  Two 
regulations  have  been  introduced  which  are  great  im 
provements  on  our  English  system  :  in  all  cases  trials 
will  take  place  before  three  judges,  and  divorces 
granted  at  their  decree,  instead  of  before  juries  liable 
to  be  influenced  by  the  eloquent  pleadings  of  counsel, 
and  better  still,  newspaper  reports  are  strictly  forbid 
den — an  immense  gain  in  the  interest  of  public  de 
cency  and  morality. 

I  feel  persuaded  that  while  perhaps  representing 
English  conservative  thought  on  this  question,  I  shall 
have  the  support  of  many  in  America  who  have 
watched  with  anxiety  the  terrible  growth  of  the  evils 
as  shown  by  the  calendars  of  the  divorce  court. 
When  last  in  New  York,  my  attention  to  this  subject 
was  again  arrested  by  a  powerful  sermon,  in  which 
the  Rev.  Robert  Collyer  deplored  the  "  enormity  of 
the  evils  of  divorce,"  and  asked,  "  What  shall  we  do 
to  be  saved  from  this  curse  which  is  spreading 
through  the  homes  of  our  nation,  and  which  will  one 
day  sap  the  foundations  of  our  life?" 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Occupations  open  to  women  in  1840,  when  Harriet  Martineau 
visited  America,  contrasted  with  those  of  to-day — The  ser 
vant  question — The  change  effected  in  woman's  position  by 
the  introduction  of  machinery — English  prejudice  and  social 
status  notions — Home  employments — Ladies'  Work  Societies 
and  the  Woman's  Exchange — Artistic  developments  in  both 
countries — Mrs.  M'Clelland's  mirror  painting — Mrs.  Fleet's 
illuminations — New  York  technical  schools  and  Cooper  In 
stitute — Boston  art  schools — Mrs.  Cameron's  photographs — 
China  painting — Wood  engraving,  designs  for  manufacturers, 
and  wall-papers  —  Lustra  painting — Mr.  Denny's  women- 
tracers  in  the  Dumbarton  Ship  Yard — Architects — The  higher 
branches  of  Art — Mrs.  Nimmo  Morant  as  an  etcher — Amer 
ican  and  English  actresses — Dramatic  reciters; — Mrs.  Liver- 
more — The  Hon.  Mrs.  Maberley's  dairy — Ladies  in  business. 

WHEN  Harriet  Martineau  visited  America  in  1840, 
she  found  only  seven  occupations  open  to  women  ;  to 
day,  in  Massachusetts  alone,  there  are  nearly  three 
hundred  different  branches  of  industry  by  which 
women  can  earn  from  one  hundred  to  three  thousand 
dollars  a  year.  The  ten  years  even  which  elapsed 
between  my  first  tour  in  1872  and  my  second  in  1882, 
had  brought  about  marked  changes.  The  type-writer 
at  the  first  date  was  in  its  tenderest  infancy,  and  the 
telephone  was  unknown  ;  now  both  these  marvellous 
inventions  are  giving  hundreds  of  girls  throughout 
the  States  remunerative  work,  and  many  artistic  oc 
cupations  have  also  been  developed. 

It  is  indeed  cheerful  to  record  these  improvements, 
(292) 


A    HEARTLESS    HOAX.  293 

but  still  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  American  ladies 
can  find  employment  whenever  they  need  it.  I  re 
ceived  many  letters  from  strangers,  as  well  as  from 
persons  well-known  to  me,  which  proved  conclusively 
that  there  are  still  great  difficulties  to  be  encountered 
by  those  who  are  obliged  to  earn  their  own  liveli 
hood.  A  heartless  hoax,  practiced  on  a%  New  York 
firm  in  the  early  part  of  1883,  clearly  showed  that 
many  are  vainly  searching  for  work  in  that  city.  An 
advertisement  appeared  in  the  Herald,  stating  that 
four  lady  copyists  were  required  by  a  Wall  Street 
firm,  for  ten  dollars  each  per  week.  The  next  day  the 
office  was  simply  besieged  by  eager  applicants,  many 
of  whom  had  spent  car  fares  they  could  ill  afford, 
only  to  find  that  a  fruitless  journey,  entailing  a  bitter 
disappointment,  was  due  to  a  stupid  joke  on  the  firm 
itself.  In  1872  I  was  hospitably  entertained  by  a  lady 
whose  husband  was  a  General  in  the  United  States 
army.  I  found  her  in  1883  struggling  for  the  means 
whereby  to  live,  as  his  death  and  other  misfortunes 
had  left  her  penniless.  This  spring  a  Brooklyn  gen 
tleman  advertised  for  a  lady  copyist  at  a  salary  of 
seven  dollars  a  week,  and  his  wife  for  a  cook  at  ten. 
There  was  only  one  applicant  for  the  cook's  place, 
while  456  ladies  were  anxious  to  secure  the  post  of 
copyist.  Such  facts  have  induced  some  people,  in 
both  countries,  to  point  to  domestic  seivice  as  afford 
ing  the  needed  opening  for  "  redundant  women  ";  and 
in  London  Mrs.  Crawshay  has  opened  an  office  from 
which  she  sends  "  lady-helps"  to  those  willing  to  em 
ploy  them.  A  lady  would  indeed  be  a  valuable  ac 
quisition  at  the  head  of  the  nursery ;  many  a  child 
suffers,  even  physically,  from  the  ignorance  of  the 


294  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

servant  to  whom  it  is  confided,  and  the  gain  in  the 
direction  of  mind  and  manners  secured  by  a  lady- 
nurse  is  obvious  to  all.  Such  a  position  might  at  least 
be  rendered  as  pleasant  as  that  of  a  governess  in 
wealthy  families.  The  " status"  accorded  to  the  gov 
erness  is  not  particularly  satisfactory.  Mr.  Ruskin 
accuses  English  people  of  treating  the  lady  to  whom 
they  entrust  the  moral  and  intellectual  formation  of 
their  children's  characters  with  even  less  respect  than 
they  do  their  housekeeper  who  has  charge  of  their  jams 
and  groceries,  and  consider  they  confer  an  honor  on 
her  by  letting  her  sometimes  sit  in  the  drawing-room 
for  an  hour  in  the  evening.  My  own  indignation 
has  been  roused  more  than  once  on  hearing  a  hand 
some,  well-bred  girl  curtly  described  as  "  only  the 
governess,"  when  I  knew  her  society  would  have  been 
courted  by  every  one  in  the  house,  if  she  had  pos 
sessed  a  good  bank  account ! 

I  fail  to  see  why  women  should  be  first  taught  to 
place  an  undue  value  upon  social  status  and  then 
asked  to  relinquish  it,  to  take  positions  for  which 
even  muscles  want  a  special  training.  I  can  not  ad 
mit  that  domestic  service  is  a  reasonable  channel  tor 
the  employment  of  educated  ladies,  although  I  con 
sider  that  no  honest  work  is  as  derogatory  as  idleness. 
The  experiment  of  a  rich  and  benevolent  lady  can  not 
create  a  market,  nor  found  a  new  order  of  things  in 
the  social  sphere.  It  is  easy  to  talk  vaguely  about 
"  the  duties  of  a  servant  being  no  more  infra  dig. 
than  those  of  a  post-office  clerk  ";  but  the  experience 
of  every  day  shows  us  that  strictly  logical  analogies 
will  not  always  work  practically.  Who  would  not 
smile  if  the  proposition  were  advanced  of  clergymen's 


AMERICAN    "  HELPS.  295 

and  physicians'  sons  going  out  as  valets,  footmen, 
and  butlers?  Classes  and  sexes  must  sink  or  swim 
together;  that  which  is  impossible  for  the  man  can 
not  be  made  available — speaking  from  the  class  point 
of  view — for  the  woman. 

I  have  no  patience  with  that  miserable  paltry  pride 
which  teaches  women  to  despise  all  paid  work ;  but  I 
have  considerable  sympathy  for  those  whose  sense  of 
the  fitness  of  things  is  strong  enough  to  induce  them 
to  wish  their  work  to  correspond  in  some  degree  with 
their  education  and  social  position. 

The  condition  of  domestic  service  in  the  United 
States  certainly  affords  food  for  reflection.  The 
true  born  American  looks  down  upon  it  as  a  species 
of  servitude  not  to  be  endured,  and  it  is  consequently 
left  to  the  Irish,  Swiss,  and  colored  race.  On  the 
Pacific  coast  the  Chinese  are  largely  employed,  and, 
when  well  trained,  they  are  excellent  servants.  Wages 
are  high,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  clothes  are  dear,  so 
that  many  of  the  Irish  chambermaids  in  the  hotels 
told  me  they  were  unable  to  save  much  money.  But 
they  have  far  more  liberty  than  English  servants.  In 
the  West,  when  their  work  is  done  in  the  evening, 
they  consider  themselves  quite  at  liberty  to  go  out 
without  "asking  leave."  I  was  once  accorded,  as  a 
special  favor,  an  oyster  supper  in  a  country  hotel, 
after  the  supper-room  was  closed.  The  landlady 
brought  it  to  my  room,  and  told  me  that  even  when 
they  had  sleighing  parties,  and  people  came  back  for 
a  repast  after  a  moonlight  drive,  she  was  forced  to 
prepare  it  herself,  as  the  "  helps  "  considered  their 
work  done,  and  they  refused  to  be  "  put  upon  "  by 
being  required  to  serve  guests  after  hours.  The  words 


296  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  master  and  servant "  are  quite  tabooed  in  the  New 
World — "  every  man  is  as  good  as  another,  and  a 
great  deal  better."  The  difficulties  often  experienced 
by  householders  must  have  given  rise  to  a  skit  I  saw 
in  a  New  York  paper  in  the  form  of  an  advertise 
ment  : 

"  A  woman,  living  on  Fifth  Avenue,  who  can  give  good  refer 
ences  from  the  last  lady  who  worked  for  her,  wishes  a  situation 
as  mistress  over  two  young  ladies.  The  advertiser  has  a  husband 
and  one  child,  but  if  the  child  is  an  objection  it  will  be  sent  out 
to  board.  The  ladies  who  consent  to  enter  into  the  alliance  will 
have  full  management  of  the  house.  The  advertiser  will  assist 
in  the  heavy  work,  such  as  wiping  down  the  stairs  and  building 
fires.  A  gentleman  of  color  will  be  in  attendance  to  wash  door 
steps,  scrub  stairs,  clean  knives  and  dishes,  carry  water,  and  run 
on  errands.  The  young  ladies  will  have  Sundays  and  Saturday 
afternoons  to  themselves,  and  can  use  the  back  parlor  for  evening 
company  during  the  week,  provided  the  advertiser  can  use  it  in 
the  morning.  In  case  the  young  ladies  desire  to  give  a  party, 
the  advertiser,  after  giving  up  the  keys  of  the  wine-cellar  and 
larder,  will  spend  the  night  at  the  hotel.  Presents  will  be  ex 
changed  on  Christmas  Day. 

"  Candidates  will  please  send  address  to  No.  —  Lexington 
Avenue,  when  the  advertiser  will  call  on  them  with  her  recom 
mendations  and  certificates  of  good  character." 

The  idea  of  household  employment  probably  takes 
its  rise  in  the  old  notion  of  "  the  home  sphere "  as 
alone  suitable  for  "  involuntary  celibates,"  and  as 
long  as  the  sound  of  the  spinning-wheel  was  heard  in 
every  home  there  was  of  course  profitable  work  for 
all  the  unmarried  members  of  the  family,  who  thus 
found  shelter  with  their  kith  and  kin,  without  the  un 
comfortable  feeling  that  they  were  either  useless  bur 
dens  or  idle  drones.  But  when  machinery  carried  off 


HOME    EMPLOYMENTS.  2Q7 

home  employments  into  large  centres  of  industry,  a 
great  change  was  effected  in  the  position  of  women, 
and  into  the  one  means  of  support  open  to  the  desti 
tute  gentlewoman — that  of  a  governess — rushed  all 
the  fortuneless  daughters  of  clergymen,  merchants, 
doctors,  military  and  naval  men,  as  the  only  channel 
of  which  their  social  prejudices  admitted,  or  in  which 
their  utter  incapacity  gave  them  any  chance  of  suc 
cess.  For  years  I  had  an  office  in  London  which 
brought  me  into  communication  with  ladies  of  this 
description,  and  I  seldom  received  applicants  for  re 
munerative  employment  without  hearing  their  apolo 
gies  "  for  being  compelled  to  teach,"  in  consequence 
of  a  bank  failure,  a  father's  death,  o*r  some  unexpected 
circumstance ;  while  some  did  not  hesitate  to  tell 
me  that  "  they  hated  teaching,'.'  but  preferred  to  be 
come  governesses  rather  than  lose  status  by  taking  part 
in  some  industrial  pursuit.  Sometimes  ladies  would 
beg  to  be  allowed  to  work  under  an  assumed  name, 
and  undergo  any  privation  in  order  "  to  keep  up  ap 
pearances."  Such  a  bugbear  was  this  "  status,"  that 
I  remember  hearing  a  paper  read  at  the  Social  Sci 
ence  Congress  in  Dublin,  m  which  suggested  that 
"  ladies  should  be  paid  privately  in  such  a  way  as  not 
to  wound  their  sensibilities  ";  as  if  that  which  is  a 
source  of  honest  pride  in  a  man  would  involve  deg 
radation  for  a  woman,  as  if  it  were  less  dignified  to 
receive  the  fairly  earned  wages  of  industry  than  the 
bounty  of  friends  and  relatives ! 

When  I  first  urged  the  necessity  of  a  wider  arena 
of  employment,  and  a  more  definite  training  to 
qualify  women  for  work,  I  was  often  struck  with  a 
strange  inconsistency  on  the  part  of  my  own  friends 

13* 


298  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

as  well  as  the  general  public.  While  they  did  not 
scruple  to  express  their  prejudices  against  "  the 
movement,"  they  showed  no  reluctance  to  apply  to 
me  for  help  when  some  sudden  misfortune  had 
thrown  a  family  connection  penniless  upon  the  world. 
I  had  serious  thoughts  once  of  starting  a  Black  Book 
for  my  own  edification,  in  which  I  proposed  to  enter 
the  names  of  persons  who  deplored  the  fact  that  I 
was  "  aiding  a  movement  to  take  women  out  of  their 
spheres,"  but  who  eagerly  sought  to  appropriate  for 
individuals  in  whom  they  had  a  personal  interest,  the 
openings  made  by  the  very  work  they  not  only  re 
fused  to  help,  but  positively  hindered  by  a  general 
harassing  opposition.  Very  strange,  too,  were  some 
of  the  appeals  for  help  and  offers  of  employment. 
It  may  interest  both  my  American  and  English 
readers  to  have  the  fpllowing  specimens  from  my 
note  book  of  applicants  : 

"  I  am  the  daughter  of  a  Commander  in  the  navy,  and  have 
now  lost  both  my  parents.  I  am  totally  unprovided  for,  and 
have  been  trying  in  vain  for  a  situation  as  companion." 

"  My  father  was  a  clergyman  in  a  small  parish  in ,  and  I 

am  now  penniless  and  homeless,  with  my  mother  a  confirmed 
invalid  ;  and  if  you  will  only  give  me  work  to  do  by  which  I  can 
support  her,  you  will  confer  a  blessing  on  me." 

"  I  am  the  youngest  of  three  sisters,  and  we  have  lost  every 
thing  we  possessed  by  the  failure  of Bank;  I  am  thirty 

years  of  age,  and  will  gladly  take  any  work  you  can  suggest." 

"  I  never  expected  to  have  to  seek  remunerative  employment. 
My  father  was  a  clergyman.  I  have  plenty  of  energy,  and 
would  work  from  morning  till  night,  but  I  can  not  find  anything 
to  do.'' 

"I  have  not  tasted  food  since  yesterday.  If  I  come  to  you 
will  you  give  me  work  to  do?  I  used  to  help  my  father  with 


A    SHORT-SIGHTED    POLICY.  299 

his  law  paper.  I  am  in  utter  despair ;  I  have  tried  everywhere 
for  employment,  and  have  sold  my  clothes  meanwhile  for  bread. 
My  only  brother  is  in  New  Zealand.  He  can  not  afford  to  pay 
my  passage  out,  as  he  has  a  large  family.  I  wish  I  had  been 
trained  while  young  to  some  useful  work." 

A  kind  but  short-sighted  policy  on  the  part  of  their 
parents  and  guardians  had  kept  them  from  remunera 
tive  employment  in  the  futile  hope  they  would  marry 
and  never  need  it.  .Such  people  sink  into  recipients 
of  charity,  and  if  the  girls  of  the  next  generation 
are  to  be  saved  from  the  evils  the  present  are  endur 
ing  they  must  be  educated  to  adapt  themselves  to 
life  under  its  altered  conditions.  Parents  must  not 
ignore  the  contingencies  which  await  their  daughters, 
and  must  send  them  forth  into  the  battle  of  life  fully 
armed  and  equipped  for  the  fray.  A  considerable 
change  will  take  place  when  this  is  done,  in  the  kind 
of  employment  offered  to  ladies.  In  answer  to  an 
appeal  I  made  for  some  who  were  really  too  infirm  or 
ill  to  face  the  difficulty  of  beginning  so  late  in  life  to 
work  for  their  own  bread,  I  received  some  letters, 
from  which  I  extract  proposals  which  were  to  be 
placed  before  the  candidates.  I  may  here  observe 
that  one  year  I  analyzed  150  cases  of  ladies  brought 
up  in  comfort,  and  some  in  positive  luxury,  but  who 
were  unexpectedly  thrown  upon  their  own  resources. 
Sixteen  had  incomes  of  from  £10  to  £18  a  year, 
twenty-nine  from  £5  to  ;£io,  and  the  rest  absolutely 
nothing.  One  hundred  and  three  of  the  applicants 
were  over  forty  years  of  age. 

"  A  gentleman  would  like  a  lady  as  housekeeper  to  take  sole 
charge  of  his  house,  and  do  the  whole  of  the  duties,  washing  in 
cluded,  with  the  exception  of  his  best  shirts.  A  widow  aged 
thirty-five  preferred.  Salary  to  commence  at  ^10  per  annum." 


3OO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"A  lady-cashier  required  in  a  ready  money  business,  as  the 
writer  had  found  from  experience  '  common  people  could  not  be 
trusted.'  Hours  from  nine  to  nine  o'clock,  and  no  salary 
offered." 

"  An  active,  clever  lady  could  be  given  the  practical  work  of  a 
large  boardipg-house.  A  cheerful  home  offered  as  compensa 
tion." 

"  A  lady  would  be  glad  to  meet  with  a  respectable  widow, 
having  an  income  of  £20  a  year,  who  would,  for  lodging,  firing, 
candles,  vegetables,  and  milk,  reside  in  her  cottage,  and  render 
her  the  daily  little  services  she  would  require.  A  charwoman 
had  occasionally  if  necessary.  There  are  five  rooms,  kitchen, 
scullery,  etc.  Very  near  the  church,  where  the  gospel  in  its  ful 
ness  is  preached.  There  are  three  services  on  the  Sabbath,  one 
on  Wednesday  evening.  Holy  Communion  is  administered  every 
fortnight,  alternately  morning  and  evening.  A  cheerful,  con 
tented,  plain  dressing  Christian  would  be  valued,  and  would  find 
a  comfortable  home." 

These  are  specimens  of  some  of  the  unique  posi 
tions  I  was  to  offer  ladies  reared  in  luxurious  help 
lessness,  when  sickness  and  sorrow  had  overtaken 
them  in  middle  life! 

It  still  requires  the  publication  of  the  figures  of  the 
census  to  induce  some  people  to  realize  that  a  great 
disparity  exists  between  the  sexes  numerically,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  more  boys  than  girls  are  born 
on  an  average  every  year.  The  census  of  1881 
showed  188,954  more  women  than  men  aged  twenty, 
116,502  more  aged  thirty,  and  the  inequality  contin 
ues  up  to  the  age  of  fifty-three,  when  the  men  nu 
merically  exceed  the  women.  During  what  may  be 
termed  the  marriageable  age,  our  army,  navy,  and 
colonies  take  an  immense  proportion  of  our  men  out 
of  the  country,  leaving  a  large  number  of  women  at 


"THE    WOMAN  S    EXCHANGE.  30! 

home,  who  can  not  by  any  possibility  find  husbands 
to  maintain  them.  For  this  difficulty  there  is  no 
remedy  except  in  allowing  women  the  means  of  earn 
ing  their  own  livelihood,  and  giving  them  an  educa 
tion  which  will  enable  them  to  break  through  the 
artificial  barriers  imposed  by  habit  and  convention. 

The  innate  preference  for  "home  employment" 
has  led  to  the  establishment  of  "  ladies'  work  societies  " 
in  England,  and  their  equivalent  "  The  Woman's 
Exchange"  in  America;  from  what  I  could  gather, 
the  one  is  as  ineffectual  as  the  other,  though  they  are 
both  honest  and,  in  a  measure,  praiseworthy  efforts, 
and  by  no  means  as  utterly  untrustworthy  as  the  de 
lusive  but  alluring  advertisements  which  offer  "  re 
munerative  employment  to  ladies  at  home  on  the 
payment  of  a  small  fee  for  instruction." 

The  articles  sent  to  such  associations  chiefly  con 
sist  of  things  people  seldom  buy,  but  make  for  them 
selves  when  needed — d'oyleys,  antimacassars,  illumin 
ated  texts,  pin-cushions,  slippers,  etc.  The  work  is 
too  often  inferior,  and  generally  too  highly  priced. 
No  organization  however  perfect  can  force  the  public 
to  «buy  it.  People  readily  express  a  sympathy  for 
"  destitute  ladies,"  but  they  are  wonderfully  critical 
over  their  efforts  to  support  themselves.  Visitors 
naturally  examine  the  goods,  and  if  they  are  not  pur 
chased  in  a  very  short  time  they  look  crushed  and 
dirty.  Dust  pays  no  more  regard  to  a  lady's  work 
than  to  the  ordinary  trader's  wares,  and  "  wear  and 
tear  "  is  a  matter  beyond  the  control  of  the  most 
careful  Secretary  and  Committee  that  ever  existed. 
"  Damaged  goods  "  form  a  heavy  yearly  item  in  the 
trader's  account,  but  inexperienced  ladies  are  totally 


3O2  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

unprepared  for  disappointments  which  await  every 
business  effort.  Until  such  agencies  can  be  estab 
lished  for  the  manufacture  and  disposal  of  what  the 
market  at  the  moment  really  requires — not  merely  to 
get  rid  of  what  ladies  like  to  make — I  can  not  but 
regard  them  as  Quixotic  attempts  to  achieve  the  im 
possible  ;  and  they  are  also  mischievous,  inasmuch  as 
they  foster  the  notion  of  home  work,  which,  after 
many  years  of  practical  work  in  various  directions,  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  describe  as  delusive,  unless  indeed 
a  woman  has  some  special  gift.  Artists  and  authors 
are  the  only  people  who  can  earn  an  income  under 
such  conditions,  but  a  widespread  ignorance  as  to  the 
true  nature  of  remunerative  occupation  leads  women 
still  to  suppose  that  societies  can  be  created  to  fur 
nish  them  with  "  home  employments."  I  speak  from 
experience,  having  made  a  practical  attempt  myself 
in  1870  in  this  direction  under  the  best  auspices;  the 
Princess  of  Wales  and  many  other  ladies  tried  by 
kind  and  liberal  patronage  to  render  it  successful,  but 
the  effort  had  to  be  abandoned. 

"  Copying  legal  documents  "«was  also  undertaken 
in  the  same  manner ;  but  the  work  of  this  busy  world 
can  not  be  stopped  for  the  sake  of  helping  ladies  to 
earn  an  income  "  at  home."  The  lawyer  is  forced  to 
have  his  papers  copied  not  only  with  accuracy  but 
despatch,  in  an  office  where  several  writers  are  ready 
to  take  up  separate  portions  at  the  same  time,  and  a 
few  hours'  work  thus  distributed  completes  the  whole. 
A  society  wishes  to  have  10,000  envelopes  directed, 
or  20,000  petition  headings  written,  but  it  is  impossi 
ble  to  scatter  them  in  a  hundred  homes.  Such  work 
is  most  appropriate  for  ladies,  but  it  must  be  done  in 


WOMEN    AS    FOREIGN    CORRESPONDENTS.      303 

offices  properly  organized  for  its  execution.  A  visit 
to  the  Prudential  Assurance  Office  on  Ludgate  Hill, 
where  ladies  are  employed  filling  up  policy  forms,  or 
to  any  well-managed  law-copying  office,  will  be  suf 
ficient  to  show  what  women  can  do  if  they  undertake 
work  on  the  usual  business  principles.  Hundreds  of 
ladies  apply  for  work  as  translators ;  they  know  suffi 
cient  French,  German,  or  Italian,  to  translate  with 
tolerable  accuracy,  and  hope  it  can  be  turned  to 
pecuniary  account.  There  is  such  work  in  the  mar 
ket;  but  those  who  know  anything  of  this  painful 
problem,  and  are  aware  of  the  vast  number  of  ladies 
depending  on  it,  realize  that  too  many  of  them  will 
seek  it  in  vain.  Disappointment  can  not  fail  to  over 
take  those  who  build  on  these  foundations.  A  blow 
has  to  be  aimed  at  the  false  pride  which  induces  many 
women  still  to  crave  payment  for  work  done  "  pri 
vately."  What  should  we  think  of  a  gentleman  seek 
ing  remuneration  sub  rosaf  And  yet  these  societies 
too  often  pander  to  this  feeling,  by  allowing  mem 
bers  to  be  known  by  numbers,  and  promising  "  never 
to  disclose  their  names."  But  public  opinion  is  to  be 
blamed  for  this  far  more  than  the  destitute  ladies, 
who  have  never  been  placed  by  their  parents  in  an 
independent  honorable  position.  If  women  will  fit 
themselves  to  act  as  foreign  correspondents  in  houses 
of  business,  there  is  work  opening  out  to  them  in 
both  countries.  If  they  make  themselves  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  book-keeping,  positions  of  trust  and 
responsibility  will  not  remain  closed  to  them.  If 
they  learn  shorthand,  engrossing,  and  type-writing, 
there  are  clerkships  to  be  had  at  the  present  moment. 
But  they  must  learn  to  recognize  the  fact  that  home 


304  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

work  is  amateur  work  ;  persons  who  endeavor  to  se 
cure  it  will  always  find  it  uncertain  and  ill-paid,  and 
those  who  venture  to  give  it  will  seldom  obtain  good 
execution  or  necessary  despatch. 

Women  forced  to  earn  their  own  livelihood  must 
be  taught  that  remunerative  occupations  can  only  be 
undertaken  under  certain  conditions.  All  work  re 
quires  an  apprenticeship,  and  those  who  wait  till  the 
hour  of  need  really  comes  will  probably  discover  that 
they  have  lost  the  strength  of  body  and  the  elasticity 
of  mind  to  encounter  difficulties  which  could  have 
been  faced  in  youth  with  every  chance  of  success. 
Surely  it  is  time  for  us  all  to  help  in  breaking  down 
the  false  notions  by  which  women  are  still  hampered 
—to  testify  against  the  indolence  which  is  not  only 
regarded  as  a  permissible  foible,  but  as  feminine  and 
refined — and  thus  to  help  women  to  exchange  a  con 
dition  of  labor  without  profit,  and  leisure  without 
ease,  for  a  life  of  wholesome  activity  and  the  repose 
which  comes  after  fruitful  toil. 

Any  one  who  opens  out  a  new  remunerative  em 
ployment  for  ladies  deserves  indeed  the  gratitude  of 
her  sex,  for  in  every  grade  of  society  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic,  women  are  now  exclaiming — 

"  What  is  it  that  I  can  turn  to,  lighting  upon  days  like  these  ? 
Every  door  is  barred  with  gold,  and  opens  but  to  golden  keys." 

In  having  set  countless  fair  fingers  to  work  in  glass- 
painting,  Mrs.  M'Clelland — whose  productions  may  be 
seen  both  at  102  New  Bond  Street,  and  at  Mac- 
queen's,  265  Broadway,  in  New  York — may  perhaps 
be  said  rather  to  have  revived  an  old  art  than  to  have 
discovered  a  new  one.  But,  as  far  as  the  ladies  are 


THE    ART    OF    ILLUMINATING.  305 

concerned,  the  result  is  the  same ;  and  although  it 
may  be  true  that  there  is  "  nothing  new  under  the 
sun,"  she  has  certainly  contrived  to  apply  the  old  art 
in  a  very  charming  manner  to  an  infinite  variety  of 
novel  nineteenth  century  devices.  Not  only  are 
young  artists  busily  at  work  in  her  studios  from  morn 
to  dewy  eve,  but  others  are  sent  out  to  decorate  the 
homes  of  those  who  care  to  be  surrounded  by  pleas 
ant  artistic  things  for  the  eye  to  light  on  continually. 
Lovely  flowers,  butterflies,  and  birds  are  painted  on 
door  panels,  over  mantels  and  mirrors ;  water  scenes, 
with  reeds  and  rushes,  storks  and  kingfishers ;  and — 
happiest  conceit  of  all — placid  pools  with  exquisite 
water-lilies  and  banks  of  ferns,  flowering  thyme  and 
fragrant  meadow-sweet.  The  painting  is  applied  to  an 
infinite  variety  of  objects,  from  summer  fire-screens  to 
pipe-racks — the  latter  in  the  form  of  a  dog-kennel,  out 
of  which  peeps  such  a  pugnacious  little  Skye  terrier 
that  one  almost  expects  to  be  greeted  with  a  familiar 
sharp  bark  on  venturing  to  approach  it.  Mirror 
painting  is  as  durable  as  it  is  delicate  and  transparent, 
and  it  promises  to  afford  employment  in  many  direc 
tions  when  entered  upon  in  a  proper  business  spirit. 
But  there  is  no  chance  for  ladies  who  do  not  put  brain 
and  heart  into  their  wrork,  and  no  permanent  pay  ex 
cept  for  the  most  thoroughly-finished  performance. 

The  art  of  illuminating  has  its  votaries  in  America, 
but  I  saw  nothing  there  which  could  be  compared 
either  in  beauty  of  design  or  finish  of  execution  with 
the  "  Te  Deum  Laudamus,"  illuminated  by  Mrs. 
Fleet,  dedicated  by  special  permission  to  Her  Majes 
ty,  and  published  in  London  in  1868.  The  manu 
scripts  of  the  middle  ages  afford  the  modern  student 


306  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

who  is  able  to  reach  them,  inexhaustible  mines  of 
wealth,  both  as  regards  symbolism  and  color,  and  a 
serious  study  of  European  and  Oriental  designs  would 
lead  to  a  profitable  renewal  of  an  exquisite  art,  which 
the  Reformation  stamped  out  as  Popish  and  super 
stitious. 

u  I  worked  with  patience,  which  means  almost 
power,"  wrote  Mrs.  Barrett  Browning.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  used  to  tell  his  pupils  that  "  labor  is  the 
price  of  solid  fame";  and  women  who  enter  artistic 
careers  have  to  be  constantly  reminded  of  this.  The 
manager  of  the  Technical  Schools  of  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art  in  New  York,  in  speaking  of  the 
ladies  who  have  availed  themselves  of  the  instruction 
afforded  there,  complains  that  they  are  "  in  too  great 
a  hurry  to  make  money  ;  they  expected  to  be  coached 
at  once  into  a  state  of  affluent  remuneration.  Anybody 
can  easily  learn  a  smattering  of  anything,  but  there  is 
no  royal  road  to  thorough  knowledge.  To  design 
well,  to  execute  art-work  that  is  artistic,  a  protracted 
drill  in  elementary  principles — particularly  in  the 
principles  of  drawing — is  indispensable.  As  soon  as 
we  began  to  teach  them  drawing,  they  were  impatient 
to  get  into  coloring.  As  soon  as  we  began  to  show 
them  how  to  make  money,  they  were  so  eager  to  be 
making  it  as  to  spurn  the  necessary  prerequisites 
thereto.  This  has  been  our  difficulty,  and  it  is  one 
that  can  not  be  overcome  until  young  women  who 
aspire  to  support  themselves  by  art,  consent  to  make 
themselves  at  least  respectable  draughtsmen."  All 
this  trouble  may  be  traced  to  the  fact  that  too  many 
women  only  begin  to  learn  when  they  require  money 
to  live  on ;  practical  training  has  too  often  been  with- 


CRAYON    PHOTOGRAPHY.  307 

held  till  they  have  reached  the  stage  when  they  ought 
to  be  reaping  the  results  of  past  toil,  instead  of  begin 
ning  to  build  up  a  future  ! 

The  Free  Art  School  for  Women  at  the  Cooper 
Institute  is  always  crowded.  Hundreds  have  to  thank 
that  public-spirited  citizen,  Peter  Cooper,  for  the  in 
struction  they  have  obtained  through  his  generous 
munificence.  Every  year  girls  leave  that  Institute 
who  are  able  to  make  from  400  to  1,200  dollars  a 
year  by  art  work.  One  graduate  is  now  earning  as 
much  as  2,000  dollars  as  a  teacher  of  drawing  in  a 
public  school. 

There  is  a  great  demand  in  America  for  "  crayon 
photography,"  by  which  hundreds  of  girls  receive 
from  25  to  100  dollars  for  every  crayon  produced. 
People  who  possess  faded,  unsatisfactory  daguerreo 
types  of  relatives  long  since  dead,  are  glad  to  have 
them  taken  to  a  solar-printshop  to  be  enlarged  and 
worked  over  with  crayons,  pastels,  charcoal,  or  Indian 
ink,  till  pleasant  portraits  are  obtained.  A  good 
crayon  artist  can  draw  directly  from  the  photograph 
without  using  the  solar-print  at  all,  and  thus  lifts  her 
self  into  a  higher  artistic  rank,  and  her  work  becomes 
eligible  for  admission  into  the  annual  exhibition  of 
the  National  Academy  of  Design. 

No  American  lady  has  yet  obtained  any  distinction 
as  a  photographist.  In  our  own  country  the  greatest 
triumph  in  this  direction  was  won  by  an  amateur,  the 
late  Mrs.  Cameron,  who  exhibited  her  pictures  season 
after  season  in  Colnaghi's  gallery.  Those  who  had  the 
good  fortune  to  be  admitted  into  the  charmed  circle 
of  her  family  in  her  pleasant  house  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight  will  not  easily  forget  her  enthusiasm  for  her 


308  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

art,  or  the  characteristic  energy  with  which  she 
worked  at  all  the  details  of  chemical  manipulation 
with  her  own  hands.  Women  who  have  sought  em 
ployment  in  this  direction  have  hitherto  been  content 
in  both  countries  with  quite  the  subordinate  parts 
of  the  business,  acting  as  photographic  assistants, 
printing — that  is  preparing — the  paper,  and  produc 
ing  on  it  the  print  from  the  negative,  pasting  the 
photograph  when  dry  on  card-board,  and  painting  out 
the  white  spots  and  marks.  The  coloring  of  photo 
graphs  already  affords  a  vast  scope  for  woman's  skill, 
but  the  higher  branch  would  open  out  a  legitimate 
field  for  female  skill  and  talent. 

Specimen  mounting  has  been  undertaken  with 
profit  by  several  ladies.  The  microscope  and  chemi 
cals  needed  cost  about  £12,  and  there  is  a  demand 
for  high-class  botanical,  anatomical,  and  pathological 
specimens.  The  bulk  of  the  specimens  used  in  Eng 
land  by  the  medical  profession  are  prepared  on  the 
Continent ;  and  Dr.  Francis  Hoggan,  who  speaks  with 
authority  on  this  matter,  has  assured  me  that  money 
can  be  earned  in  this  way  by  ladies  who  are  willing 
to  keep  up  with  the  latest  improvements,  and  who  do 
not  take  up  the  work  in  a  dilettante  spirit.  The  same 
may  be  said  about  etching.  The  tools  and  plates 
are  all  the  expense  incurred,  together  with  instruc 
tion  from  a  first-rate  engraver ;  and  few  art  occupa 
tions  take  up  less  room,  or  make  less  mess,  except 
during  the  biting  and  the  cleansing  process. 

China  painting  has  been  as  great  a  craze  across  the 
Atlantic  as  here ;  there  is  scarcely  a  city  where  a 
clever  teacher  can  not  secure  pupils,  and  sell  vases, 
bowls,  and  plaques.  I  heard  of  one  clever  young 


DEMAND    FOR    DESIGNS.  309 

woman  at  Denver  who  resolved  to  make  her  living  in 
this  manner,  and,  undaunted  by  the  fact  that  the 
nearest  kiln  for  firing  her  china  was  a  thousand  miles 
away,  started  a  private  kiln  of  her  own  and  baked 
her  own  wares.  I  saw  some  of  the  work  turned  out 
by  the  Chicago  Pottery  Club,  showing  skill,  taste, 
and  great  originality  of  design. 

In  Philadelphia  I  found  that  the  most  flourishing 
School  of  Design,  started  by  the  wife  of  the  British 
Consul,  received  a  great  impetus  at  the  time  of  the 
Centennial  Exposition ;  it  teaches  architecture,  en 
graving,  and  lithography,  as  well  as  designing,  and 
its  graduates  are  scattered  far  and  wide  as  art  teach 
ers.  The  palm  in  wood-carving  must  be  given  to 
Cincinnati.  Some  of  the  pupils  there  have  also  ob 
tained  creditable  distinction  for  fresco  painting,  and 
perhaps  there  is  no  institution  of  the  kind  so  success 
ful  as  the  famous  Rockwood  Pottery  under  the  man 
agement  of  Mrs.  Nichols,  to  which  I  have  already  al 
luded. 

The  demand  for  designs  is  as  great  as  it  is  various. 
Cabinetmakers,  manufacturers,  silversmiths  are  all 
anxious  to  obtain  a  "  novelty,"  that  great  business 
factor  in  this  world  of  change  upon  change.  I  have 
already  touched  upon  the  recent  success  of  American 
silk  weavers  ;  ladies  find  remunerative  employment  in 
furnishing  appropriate  designs  for  the  native  products, 
which  now  hold  their  own  with  imported  goods.  Miss 
Ida  Clerk  lately  designed  for  a  manufacturer  of  woven 
stuff  the  hangings  for  a  palace  car  which  had  for  its 
pattern  a  peal  of  bells,  scattered  as  if  driven  by  the 
prairie  winds,  with  a  border  of  coupled  car  wheels  and 
drifted  smoke  between. 


3IO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Wall  papers  have  also  been  designed  by  women. 
Mr.  Montagu  Marks  told  me  that  the  first  three  prizes 
of  a  thousand  dollars  each,  at  a  recent  competition, 
were  all  carried  off  by  lady  artists. 

Massachusetts  undoubtedly  led  the  way  in  pro 
moting  art  education.  There  is  an  excellent  Free 
School  of  Industrial  Design  at  Lowell  in  connection 
with  the  Boston  Institute  of  Technology,  and  a  splen 
did  school  of  fine-arts  has  been  added  to  the  Boston 
Conservatory  of  Music.  I  may  also  mention  here 
that  the  Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union 
has  for  six  years  rendered  great  assistance  to  Boston 
women  of  another  grade ;  it  has  eleven  district  de 
partments,  and  about  a  thousand  members. 

The  New  York  Decorative  Art  Society  is  managed 
much  on  the  same  principle  as  "  The  Woman's  Ex 
change,"  and  has  four  thousand  members,  who  derive 
an  income  from  the  sale  of  art  work,  and  countless 
kindred  societies  have  sprung  up  all  over  America.  It 
follows  as  far  as  possible  in  the  steps  of  our  Kensing 
ton  School  of  Art.  Latterly  very  great  attention  has 
been  paid  to  ribbon  and  velvet  embroideries.  The 
pupils  taught  by  the  society  have  spread  abroad  the 
love  of  decoration,  and  this  is  very  far  from  being 
limited  to  needlework,  or  to  ornamentation  in  silks 
and  velvet.  Painting  upon  materials  of  various  kinds 
is  perhaps  still  more  largely  in  demand.  China  and 
tile  painting,  painting  upon  silk,  satin,  tapestry,  and 
upon  Lincrusta  Walton  are  all  undertaken,  specially 
beautiful  results  having  recently  been  produced  in 
tapestry  painting.  Messrs.  Bragden  and  Fenetti  have 
introduced  lustra  painting,  a  new  invention  suscepti 
ble  of  ornamentation,  which  takes  the  place  of  ex- 


ENGINEER    AND    ARCHITECTURAL    TRACING,  3!  I 

pensive  etnbroidery,  and  can  be  applied  to  every  fabric, 
from  linen  to  velvet — for  curtains,  screens,  portieres, 
and  ball  dresses.  Their  art  gallery  in  Union  Square 
well  repays  a  visit,  and  numbers  of  ladies  are  earning 
money  throughout  the  country  who  have  obtained 
instruction  there. 

At  present  we  take  the  lead  at  home  in  the  de 
velopment  of  engineer  and  architectural  tracing  as  an 
employment  for  women.  I  have  alluded  to  this  be 
fore,  but  wish  to  record  here  a  delightful  visit  recently 
paid  to  the  Leven  Ship  Yard  at  Dumbarton,  where 
Mr.  Denny  employs,  in  connection  with  shipbuilding, 
about  a  hundred  Scotch  girls  as  tracers  and  drawers 
and  decorators,  and  some  were  busy  in  water-color 
and  tile-painting.  No  men  have  been  ousted  by 
them  ;  the  appointments  are  made  by  competition 
papers  and  examinations,  and  the  girls  themselves 
are  mostly  drawn  from  the  families  of  those  who  are 
at  work  in  other  departments  for  the  same  firm. 

A  distinguished  English  architect  suggests  that  he 
can  see  nothing  to  prevent  ladies  from  entering  his 
own  profession  if  they  have  the  power  of  design.  "  We 
want,"  he  says,  "  refinement,  delicacy,  great  sense  of 
fitness,  the  sense  of  the  beautiful,  imagination,  and 
sufficient  mental  activity  to  be  able  to  picture  in  the 
mind's  eye  the  result  of  given  proportions  and  com 
binations  of  the  three  elementary  figures,  the  circle, 
square,  and  triangle.  Accuracy  is  necessary  and  re 
pose  is  desirable.  An  impulsive,  gay,  free-as-air  sort 
of  girl,  is  not  the  stuff  for  an  architect,  but  for  the 
right  kind  of  women  there  is  a  wide  field  of  usefulness 
in  architecture,  including  furniture  and  decoration." 

Of  course,  in  the  higher  branches  of  art,  the  names 


312  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

of  women  who  have  achieved  success  are  known  to 
the  whole  world.  In  England,  from  Mr.  Ruskin 
downward  we  recognize  that  in  Mrs.  Nimmo  Morant, 
New  York  possesses  the  best  woman  etcher  of  the 
day.  We  pride  ourselves  on  the  battle-pieces  of  Eliza- 
betfy  Thompson  Butler,  France  boasts  of  her  celebra 
ted  animal  painter  Rosa  Bonheur,  and  America  claims 
the  honor  of  having  given  birth  to  the  greatest  woman 
sculptor  of  our  times — Harriet  Hosmer.  I  met  in 
New  York  a  clever  sculptor,  in  whose  veins  run  the 
blood  of  two  down-trodden  races.  Miss  Edmonia 
Lewis  was  the  daughter  of  a  negro  and  a  Chippeway 
Indian,  and  she  lived  with  her  mother  till  she  was 
twelve  years  old,  helping  to  make  moccasins  for  the 
tribe.  She  afterward  obtained  a  common-school  ed 
ucation,  and  while  in  Boston  was  so  riveted  by  the 
Franklin  statue,  that  she  began  to  wonder  if  she 
could  ever  "  make  images  like  that."  A  friend  sent 
her  to  Brackett,  who  set  her  to  work  on  a  plaster  cast. 
The  money  she  earned  was  carefully  hoarded  till  it 
enabled  her  to  go  to  Rome,  where  she  made  good  use 
of  her  opportunities,  and  produced  a  charming  piece 
of  work,  "  Hiawatha's  Marriage,"  now  in  the  possession 
of  Mrs.  Bullard,  at  whose  house  I  made  the  sculptor's 
acquaintance.  Some  of  her  statues  have  found  their 
way  here.  Lord  Bute  purchased,  for  ,£500,  a  beauti 
ful  representation  of  the  "  Madonna  and  Child." 

Some  people  maintain  that  "  women  ought  to  reign 
supreme  in  the  kingdom  of  art."  Considering  the 
difficulties  by  which  the  sex  is  surrounded,  I  think 
they  have  already  taken  a  proud  place.  George  Eliot 
and  Elizabeth  Browning  rank  among  our  foremost 
writers ;  by  the  side  of  Joachim  we  find  Madame  Nor- 


LADY    LECTURERS.  313 

man  N£ruda,  Madame  Schumann.  Arabella  Goddard 
and  Miss  Zimmerman  can  hold  their  own  with  Rubin 
stein  and  Halle"  ;  if  Italy  has  produced  a  Salvini,  she 
has  also  given  us  a  Ristori,  and  indeed,  in  histrionic 
art,  women  have  won  equal,  if  not  superior  triumphs 
to  men.  Take  the  dramatic  representatives  of  the 
English  and  American  stages  of  to-day.  Shall  a  lower 
place  be  assigned  to  Mrs.  Kendal,  Ellen  Terry,  or 
Mrs.  Bancroft  than  is  accorded  to  Irving,  Wilson  Bar 
rett,  or  Charles  Wyndham  ;  and  are  not  Genevieve 
Ward,  Clara  Morris,  and  Mary  Anderson  the  worthy 
peers  of  Edwin  Booth,  Laurence  Barrett,  and  that 
prince  of  comedians,  Jefferson  ?  When  we  come  to 
the  operatic  world  it  must  certainly  be  admitted  that 
Albani,  Trebelli,  Patti,  and  Nilsson  stand  far  above 
any  male  singer  that  can  be  named. 

As  dramatic  reciters  ladies  may  also  be  found  in 
the  front  rank.  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons  has  achieved  a 
world-wide  popularity  as  a  reader ;  few  can  rival  the 
picturesque  and  graceful  tenderness  of  attitude  and 
expression  of  Elia  Dietz.  Sarah  Cowell — now  the 
best  drawing-room  reciter  in  America — obtained  a 
quick  and  brilliant  success  in  the  highest  London  cir 
cles  this  season,  winning  the  ear  and  admiration  of 
royalty  itself. 

America  has  also  been  a  great  field  for  lady  lec 
turers.  Mrs.  Livermore  takes  the  lead  in  this  direc 
tion  at  the  present  time ;  she  travels  more  than  25,000 
miles  every  winter  to  fulfil  her  engagements,  and  has 
eloquently  pleaded  the  woman's  cause,  and  been  in 
strumental  in  removing  many  of  the  grievous  disa 
bilities  from  which  her  sex  has  suffered. 

The  position  of  lady  doctors  in  America  has  been 
14 


31-}-  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

spoken  of  elsewhere,  but  I  may  mention  that  many 
women  there  as  in  England,  find  employment  in  phar 
macy.  The  fingers  which  handle  so  deftly  the  keyboard 
of  a  piano-forte  may  safely  be  trusted  with  a  pair  of 
scales,  or  allowed  to  stir  solutions  with  a  glass  rod. 
The  sex  which  gives  us  the  best  sick-nurses  can 
assuredly  learn  the  chemical  operations  of  the  labora 
tory,  and  the  higher  education  now  within-  the  reach 
of  women  enables  those  who  aspire  to  dispense  medi 
cine  to  pass  the  necessary  examination  in  pharmacy, 
materia  medica,  botany,  and  chemistry.  One  Ameri 
can  has  greatly  distinguished  herself  as  an  analyst. 
Professor  Nichols, 'in  his  examination  of  the  rivers  of 
Massachusetts  for  the  State  Board  of  Health,  found 
her  work  of  so  much  assistance  that  he  publicly  ex 
pressed  his  confidence  that  analytical  chemistry 
would  afford  an  available  field  for  female  talent  and 
industry. 

Ladies  engaged  in  literature  and  art  have  always 
been  welcomed  by  what  is  termed  "  the  best  society," 
and  class  distinctions  and  social  prejudices  have  never 
hampered  American  workers  as  hitherto  they  have 
English  women.  But  even  in  the  old  world  we  are 
now  beginning  to  respect  those  who  have  entered  in 
dustrial  occupations.  Of  late  years  business  men 
have  been  drawn  from  families  celebrated  for  blue 
blood  and  noble  lineage,  the  sons  of  noblemen  have 
become  tea  merchants,  brewers,  and  stockbrokers, 
Peers  of  the  realm  have  gone  into  the  coal  trade,  and 
the  Premier  of  England  has  started  as  a  cab  proprie 
tor  with  such  definite  views  as  to  the  best  manner  of 
carrying  on  h*s  business  that  he  sold  eighty-five  of 


LADIES    AS    HOUSE    DECORATORS.  315 

his  cab  horses  at  auction  the  other  day,  as  he  intends 
annually  to  replenish  his  stock.  A  few  ladies  of  rank 
have  also  ventured  on  similar  careers.  The  Hon. 
Mrs.  Maberley  some  time  ago  started  an  extensive 
dairy,  which  supplied  the  west  end  of  London  with 
milk  and  butter.  When  the  carts  bearing  her  name 
in  full  were  first  seen  in  fashionable  quarters  they 
created  no  little  remark,  but  people  soon  grew  accus 
tomed  to  the  innovation.  Mrs.  Maberley  was  simply 
untiring  in  the  personal  supervision  of  her  business 
up  to  the  very  day  of  her  fatal  illness.  Some  friends 
of  mine  once  had  occasion  to  question  an  item  in 
what  housekeepers  call  "  the  milk-man's  book."  Mrs. 
Maberley  called  herself  to  set  the  matter  right.  She 
was  not  content  to  do  the  work  by  deputy,  no  paltry 
pride  or  feeling  of  caste  withheld  her  from  doing  her 
duty  as  the  head  of  her  business,  and  calling  person 
ally  on  her  customers  to  give  the  necessary  explana 
tion. 

Several  ladies  have  started  as  house  decorators, 
having  served  a  proper  apprenticeship  in  business 
firms  in  order  to  learn  their  trade.  They  supply  fur 
niture  and  upholstery  as  well  as  wall  decorations, 
mount  scaffolds  to  paint  ceilings  when  the  nature  of 
their  work  requires  it,  and  are  as  successful  as  their 
masculine  competitors.  Mrs.  Hartley  Brown  and 
Miss  Townshend,  soon  after  entering  into  partner 
ship,  were  appropriately  employed  in  decorating  Mer- 
ton  College,  and  devised  with  much  success  some  new 
stuffs  for  the  chairs  and  sofas  for  the  use  of  the  Cam 
bridge  girl  graduates.  Some  experienced  ladies  are 
about  to  establish  a  commission  agency  in  London  ; 


3l6  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

they  will  undertake  to  purchase  goods  for  persons 
residing  in  the  provinces,  colonies,  and  America. 
Practical  work  of  this  nature  is  worth  a  hundred  lec 
tures  and  essays,  and  every  woman  who  succeeds  is  a 
beacon  light  to  her  struggling  sisters. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A  woman  switchman — Laundry  work — A  steamboat  captain — 
Mrs.  Maxwell,  of  Colorado — Inconsistencies — Book  agents 
— Stock-brokers — Copyists — Librarians — Incomes  earned  by 
shorthand  writers — Employment  afforded  by  the  type-writer, 
the  telegraph,  and  the  telephone — The  manicure — American 
disapproval  of  women  as  barmaids  —  The  force  of  habit — 
Objections  raised  at  first  against  women  hair-dressers — 
Factory  life  —  American  and  English  operatives  contrasted 
— Miss  Jennie  Collins,  of  Boston — Various  industries — To 
bacco  factories  —  Ladies  on  school  boards  and  as  poor-law 
guardians  —  The  condition  of  the  needle-women  in  New  York 
— The  late  Leonard  Montefiore — Hamilton  &  Co.'s  copo- 
erative  shirt-making — Watch-making  in  the  United  States 
— A  visit  to  the  National  Elgin  Watch  Factory  —  Waltham 
factory. 

"A  WOMAN  SWITCHMAN  "  certainly  sounds  extraor 
dinary,  but  one  who  appears  quite  contented  with  her 
lot  has  been  employed  in  that  way  for  many  years  at 
the  railroad  junction  at  Macon,  Ga.,  and  has  never 
been  known  to  misplace  a  switch.  When  asked  how 
she  liked  the  work,  which  occupies  her  from  6  A.M.  to 
6  at  night,  she  replied,  "  Far  better  than  the  wash- 
tub.  I  am  never  sick,  and  I  know  when  my  work  is 
done."  Perhaps  there  is  a  general  dislike  to  "  the 
wash-tub "  in  America ;  anyhow  the  heads  of  the 
laundries  are  invariably  men,  and  a  great  deal  of  money 
is  made,  as  machinery  is  far  more  generally  used  than 
in  England,  but  which,  with  the  preparations  used  in 
washing,  often  play  sad  havoc  with  the  clothes. 

(317)       - 


318  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

A  steamboat  captain  seems  an  equally  singular  em 
ployment  for  a  woman  to  adopt,  but  Mrs.  Mary  S. 
Miller  has  received  a  license  from  the  New  Orleans 
Board  of  United  States  Inspectors  of  Steam  Vessels 
to  run  the  Mississippi  steamboat  Saline,  together 
with  permission  to  navigate  on  the  Red,  Ouachita, 
and  other  Western  rivers.  She  holds  that  a  woman 
can  manage  a  boat  as  well  as  a  sewing-machine,  and 
having  passed  her  examination  and  proved  her  capac 
ity,  the  inspectors  were  bound  to  grant  her  certificate, 
for  they  had  submitted  Mrs.  Miller's  application  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  being  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do  in  such  an  unprecedented  case.  That 
official  gallantly  replied,  "  If  she  demonstrated  her 
competence  for  the  position  the  license  was  to  be 
granted."  Mrs.  Miller  is  accordingly  now  in  full  ex 
ercise  of  a  calling  which  demands  exceptional  energy, 
nerve,  and  discretion.  Every  one  acquainted  with 
Mississippi  steamboat  navigation  will  endorse  the 
opinion  expressed  by  an  official,  that  "  no  business  pur 
suit  compels  more  contact  with  the  rough-and-tum 
ble  "  of  life  than  this;  but  Mrs.  Miller  of  Louisiana 
feels  equal  to  the  task,  having  come,  as  she  describes 
it,  of  "  a  steamboat  family."  But  when  it  is  borne  in 
mind  that  30,000  women  are  employed  in  England  in 
driving  and  steering  canal  boats,  Mrs.  Miller's  new  de 
parture  is  perhaps  not  as  strange  as  it  at  first  appears. 
For  many  years  we  had  in  London  a  woman  teacher, 
of  navigation.  The  late  Mrs.  Janet  Taylor  was  well 
known  to  our  mercantile  marine.  She  received  the 
recognition  of  the  Board  of  Admiralty  and  the  Trin 
ity  Brethren,  and  medals  from  foreign  powers  for  her 
improvements  in  nautical  instruments.  As  a  mathema- 


MRS.    MAXWELL,    OF    COLORADO.  319 

tician  of  the  first  class  she  deserves  to  be  remembered 
with  Mrs.  Somerville.  Her  logarithmic  tables  were 
acknowledged  to  be  correct  and  complete  in  no  ordi 
nary  degree,  and  her  occupation  was  to  prepare  young 
men  for  the  sea. 

Mrs.  Maxwell,  of  Colorado,  struck  out  in  a  novel 
direction  ;  by  her  own  personal  efforts  she  collected  a 
vast  number  of  birds  and  animals,  which  she  shot, 
and  afterward  skinned  and  stuffed  for  sale.  Bears, 
antelopes,  and  elks  from  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
prairie  dogs,  squirrels  and  beavers  which  fell  a  prey  to 
her  gun,  and  all  sorts  of  birds,  have  been  thus  utilized 
for  business  purposes. 

Mrs.  Maxwell's  pursuit  will  probably  be  condemned 
by  some  people  as  "  most  unfeminine,"  but  what  is 
the  difference  between  a  woman  doing  certain  things 
for  nothing  and  doing  them  for  money,  that  makes 
the  first  proper  and  the  second  unwomanly?  Many 
a  girl,  without  actually  carrying  a  gun,  follows  her 
brother  and  his  friends  grouse-shooting,  tramps  over 
rough  moors,  and  assists  the  sportsman  in  many  ways, 
and  admiring  friends  exclaim,  "A  good,  healthy  exer 
cise — she  is  a  sensible  girl ";  another  is  applauded  for 
a  glowing  account  of  a  capital  day's  salmon-fishing. 
Another  presides  at  pigeon  matches,  and  sees  a  battue 
in  which  defenceless  birds  are  simply  butchered,  and 
it  is  called  an  exciting  pastime.  Ladies  have  been 
known  to  break -in  their  own  horses,  to  ride  after 
hounds,  to  leap  five-barred  gates,  hunt  helpless  foxes; 
if  "in  at  the  death"  they  receive  the  homage  of  the 
field,  and  perhaps  "  the  brush."  But  when  the  other 
side  of  the  picture  is  turned,  very  different  sentiments 
are  expressed.  The  lady  who  becomes  a  riding  mis- 


32O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

tress  and  "  breaks-in  "  horses  for  her  living,  has  chosen 
a  most  unfeminine  career.  The  woman-farmer  in  the 
colonies,  who  fetches  in  her  own  cattle  and  keeps  her 
"hands"  in  order,  must  be  "  half  a  man."  The  very 
ladies  who  take  part  in  theatricals  "for  charities"  are 
shocked  at  the  boldness  of  a  lady  lecturer,  who  can 
face  an  audience  and  take  a  fee  like  Mr.  Matthew 
Arnold,  Professor  Huxley,  or  any  other  gentleman 
who  undertakes  to  speak  on  subjects  with  which  he 
is  familiar.  We  see  everything  from  our  own  "point 
of  view."  Five  years  ago  I  even  heard  an  actress 
exclaim  at  the  notion  of  a  woman  lecturing  in  public. 
"  I  should  die  of  fright  if  I  attempted  it,"  was  the  re 
mark  of  the  best  known  artist  on  the  London  stage, 
who  has  appeared  behind  the  footlights  nightly  ever 
since  she  was  a  mere  child.  At  a  recent  "tea"  given 
for  the  benefit  of  "  the  ladies  of  the  ballet "  a  discus 
sion  arose  about  tricycles.  A  member  of  the  corps 
de  ballet  expressed  her  disapproval  of  their  use  as 
"  indecorous,"  inasmuch  as  a  lady  would  "  show  so 
much  of  her  legs."  Her  own  nightly  performances 
in  scanty  garments  had  evidently  never  struck  her  in 
the  same  light ! 

Many  women  are  employed  throughout  the  States 
as  book  agents.  The  manager  of  Messrs.  Houghton, 
Mifflin  &  Co.  told  me  of  a  school-teacher  who  had 
adopted  this  mode  of  living,  and  started  out  to  obtain 
subscribers  for  the  "  American  Encyclopaedia."  She 
has  never  netted  less  than  five  thousand  dollars  a 
year,  and  only  works  for  eight  or  nine  months,  and 
travels  in  a  carriage  from  door  to  door  with  introduc 
tions  from  previous  customers.  Messrs.  Appleton, 
by  whom  she  is  employed,  consider  her  one  of  their 


GIRLS    AS    LIBRARIANS.  321 

best  canvassers,  as  she  is  not  only  successful  in  her 
work,  but  particularly  methodical  in  her  accounts ; 
while  her  success  is  exceptional,  there  are  large  num 
bers  of  women  who  earn  a  living  for  themselves 
and  others  in  this  way.  At  Baltimore  two  sisters 
have  become  most  successful  newspaper  canvassers. 
Women  who  understand  what  they  sell,  and  are  not 
only  simply  looking  to  the  immediate  commission, 
find  a  line  of  great  activity  open  to  them  in  this  di 
rection. 

Some  American  ladies  have  become  stock-brokers, 
but  their  record  has  not  been  altogether  satisfactory. 
A  very  serious  complaint  was  being  raised  when  I  left 
America  about  the  head  of  the  Ladies'  Investment 
Bureau. 

Girls  are  employed  in  the  Boston  Title  Company 
in  copying  deeds,  and  in  a  similar  way  at  Baltimore 
and  elsewhere.  Numbers  throughout  the  country 
are  engaged  as  librarians.  At  Harvard,  girls  com 
mence  at  a  salary  of  ;£ioo  a  year  and  rise  to  ,£200. 
In  a  library  in  Chicago,  where  twenty-six  people  are 
employed,  I  found  the  chief  officer  was  a  lady. 
Shorthand  enables  many  to  make  a  good  living, 
especially  in  connection  with  type-writers,  which  are 
found  invaluable  to  stenographers.  I  visited  several 
offices  started  by  lady  stenographers  where  from  six 
to  a  dozen  girls  were  busily  employed  copying  legal 
documents  and  authors'  manuscripts  by  means  of 
these  marvellous  machines.  Girls  quickly  learn  to 
use  the  type-writer,  and  seem  quite  to  enjoy  manipu 
lating  the  keys.  A  few  months'  practice  enables 
them  to  write  with  it  three  times  as  fast  as  with  a 
pen,  and  with  perfect  neatness  and  accuracy.  It  is 
14* 


322  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

probable  an  effort  will  shortly  be  made  in  London  to 
open  a  well-appointed  office  for  the  employment  of 
women  in  this  direction.  A  shorthand  writer  at 
Utica  is  said  to  earn  £1,600  a  year,  another  at  Roch 
ester  .£1,000,  and  a  Mrs.  Sarah  Grasby  travels  through 
seventeen  counties  with  the  assize  courts  and  earns 
£1,800. 

American  shop  girls  are  called  salesladies ;  while 
the  heads  of  departments  are  often  very  superior 
women,  having  been  thoroughly  well  educated.  I  can 
not  say  that  I  was  favorably  impressed  with  some 
who  stand  behind  the  counter.  By  way  of  proving 
their  independence  and  equality,  they  continually 
carry  on  conversations  with  each  other  while  attend 
ing  to  their  customers,  and  act  as  if  they  were  con 
ferring  a  great  favor  in  supplying  the  goods  required. 
Excellent  arrangements  are  made  by  the  best  estab 
lishments  for  the  comfort  of  their  employees,  but  the 
same  trouble  exists  as  at  home,  about  the  absence  of 
seats  for  proper  rest  during  the  long  hours  the  girls 
are  obliged  to  work.  American  shopping  is  on  an 
unsatisfactory  basis,  and  certainly  taxes  the  patience 
of  a  Londoner  to  the  utmost.  Ladies  seem  to  make 
a  daily  practice  of  visiting  the  "  stores,"  as  shops  are 
called,  to  inspect  the  goods,  without  the  remotest  in 
tention  of  buying  anything  at  all.  They  are  very 
much  amused  with  the  idea  which  prevails  here,  that 
we  have  no  business  to  give  a  tradesman  the  trouble 
of  showing  his  wares  without  making  some  corre 
sponding  purchase  in  return  for  his  expenditure  of 
time  and  trouble,  and  they  undoubtedly  excite  a  great 
deal  of  remark  in  English  shops,  where  their  home 
practice  is  neither  understood  nor  appreciated. 


THE    MANICURE.  323 

The  girls  employed  as  telegraphists  and  telepho 
nists  have  plenty  to  do  in  America.  Here  we  have 
hitherto  regarded  the  telephone  as  the  rival  to  the 
telegraph,  and  a  foolish  restrictive  policy  for  some 
time  retarded  the  development  of  the  most  marvel 
lous  invention  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  Amer 
ica  they  both  run  hand  in  hand,  and  the  returns  of 
each  advanced  half  a  million  of  dollars  last  year. 
The  telephone  is  considered  there  quite  an  indispen 
sable  adjunct  to  all  places  of  business,  and  is  generally 
to  be  found  in  well-appointed  private  houses  also  ; 
as  Herbert  Spencer  remarked,  "  The  extensive  use  of 
telephones  in  the  United  States  is  an  indication  of 
the  intelligence  of  the  people  ";  but,  in  spite  of  this, 
telegrams  are  sent  much  more  freely  than  in  England. 
Both  these  great  adjuncts  of  civilization  afford  a  suit 
able  employment  for  women  ;  a  telephonist  requires 
a  clear  voice  and  a  good  ear,  and  owing  to  the  timbre 
of  the  ordinary  female  voice,  girls  are  more  adapted 
for  the  work  than  boys. 

The  manicure  is  as  well  known  in  the  States  as  the 
chiropodist,  and  earns  an  excellent  living  by  the  novel 
employment  of  beautifying  the  finger-nails  of  Ameri 
can  ladies ;  sometimes  the  manicure's  own  office  is 
the  scene  of  operation,  but  many  customers  require 
to  be  called  on  at  their  own  houses  once  or  twice  a 
week ;  thither  she  repairs  with  her  various  tools  in 
the  shape  of  scissors  and  file,  with  their  accompany 
ing  powder,  paste,  chamois  pad,  and  polisher. 

The  one  employment  from  which  Americans  turn 
their  faces  in  righteous  horror  is  that  of  the  barmaid. 
They  consider  it  a  degrading  position,  and  can  not 
understand  how  English  people  reconcile  with  their 


324  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

professions  of  Christianity  the  barbarous  practice  of 
exposing  women  to  the  atmosphere  of  a  liquor  bar  at 
a  railway  station,  where  they  must  often  run  the 
gauntlet  of  the  insolent  attentions  of  the  "  half-in 
toxicated  masher,"  endure  vulgar  familiarity,  and 
overhear  low  conversation. 

People  who  strain  at  the  gnat  swallow  the  camel. 
When  it  was  first  proposed  in  London  to  employ 
women  as  hair-dressers,*  it  was  regarded  as  an  unfit 
occupation  for  women,  u  which  would  revolutionize 
the  trade,"  though  it  was  only  suggested  that  they 
should  wait  upon  ladies.  When  the  importance  of 
placing  women  in  positions  of  trust  and  responsi 
bility  in  our  factories  is  urged,  people  still  express  a 
fear  it  will  "unsex  them,"  quite  oblivious  of  the  fact 
that  women  and  girls  are  already  in  the  lower  depart 
ments  of  labor  under  deplorable  conditions.  They 
are  obliged  to  work  in  some  cases  in  a  half-naked  con 
dition  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the  high  tem 
perature.  The  refuse  of  cotton  mills — the  sweepings 
—full  of  dust  and  filth,  which  are  bought  up  by  cer 
tain  dealers,  are  put  through  machinery  in  the  process 
of  cleaning.  The  women  and  girls  employed  have  to 
work  in  such  fearful  clouds  of  dust,  that  they  are 
forced  to  fill  their  mouths  and  nostrils  with  rags  and 
cotton  to  avoid  suffocation ;  and  when  they  leave 
work,  they  are  literally  covered  with  a  layer  of  greasy 
dirt  and  dust. 

All    who    have    studied    the    painful    problem    of 


*  Mr.  Douglas,  of  Old  Bond  Street,  was  the  first  in  London  to 
introduce  women  hair-dressers.  Mr,  Truefitt  followed  ;  and  now 
both  here  and  in  America  women  are  very  generally  employed 
in  this  suitable  occupation. 


OPERATIVES  IN  FACTORIES.        325 

women's  work  know  that  some  of  the  hardest  and 
worst  paid  work  in  this  weary  world  falls  to  their  lot. 
There  is  a  story  told  of  a  Massachusetts  School 
Committee,  who  actually  in  their  printed  report,  in 
allusion  to  a  certain  appointment,  observed,  "  As  this 
place  offers  neither  honor  nor  profit,  we  do  not  see 
why  it  should  not  be  filled  by  a  woman." 

Of  course  there  are  factories  and  factories  in  both 
countries,  and  many  afford  pleasant,  wholesome  occu 
pation.  We  have  seen  some  "  mill  hands  "  starting 
for  a  day's  holiday  in  the  green  fields  of  England, 
looking  as  intelligent  and  as  neatly  attired  as  any 
women  in  their  own  station  of  life.  Lowell  and 
Lawrence  and  their  operatives  have  a  world-wide 
fame.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  more  prosperous, 
happy,  and  respectable  set  of 'people  anywhere. 

No  one  could  desire  to  see  women  looking  more 
healthy  than  the  operatives  in  some  of  our  factories 
in  Manchester,  Bradford,  and  Halifax.  I  shall  long 
remember  going  through  Messrs.  Birchenough's  silk 
mills  at  Macclesfield.  Certainly  the  occasion  was  an 
exceptional  one.  The  eldest  son  had  been  married 
the  day  before,  and  the  entire  place  had  been  decora 
ted  by  the  operatives  to  commemorate  the  event.  The 
walls  were  adorned  by  appropriate  mottoes,  even 
unique  representations  of  the  bridal  ceremony  had 
been  devised,  and  everything  betokened  the  happy 
understanding  existing  there  between  labor  and  capi 
tal.  It  can  no  longer  be  said  with  justice,  that  while 
"  we  blanch  cotton,  strengthen  steel,  refine  sugar,  and 
shape  pottery,  it  never  enters  into  our  estimate  of 
advantages  to  lighten,  to  strengthen,  and  to  rejoice  a 
living  spirit."  Both  countries  are  now  fully  alive  to 


326  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  wisdom  as  well  as  the  duty  of  developing  our 
workers  as  human  creatures,  rather  than  as  mechani 
cal  wealth  producers,  and  of  giving  less  time  to  labor, 
and  more  to  education  of  head,  heart,  and  hands,  be 
fore  the  serious  work  of  life  begins. 

Visitors  to  recent  exhibitions  have  had  opportuni 
ties  of  seeing  women  working  at  various  machines, 
and  can  therefore  judge  in  some  measure  without  go 
ing  over  our  factories  of  the  effects  of  this  labor  on 
the  physical  condition  of  the  workers.  At  the  Crys 
tal  Palace  I  was  watching,  not  very  long  since,  some 
bright  specimens  of  Lancashire  operatives,  who  were 
busily  employed  making  that  beautiful  fabric,  nonpa 
reil  velveteen,  which  even  rivals  the  productions  of  the 
Lyons  looms.  Mrs.  Livermore,  in  her  excellent  bro 
chure,  "  What  shall  we  do  with  our  Daughters?" 
speaks  of  a  woman  engineer  at  the  Philadelphia  expo- 
sftion,  "  a  comely  maiden  with  pleasant  face,  refined 
manners,  and  dainty  dress,  who,  amid  the  heat,  dust, 
smoke,  and  noise,  preserved  her  neatness,  and  yet  did 
all  the  work  from  starting  the  fire  in  the  morning  to 
blowing  off  the  steam  at  night.  The  girl  herself  said 
her  labor  was  not  so  exhausting  as  taking  charge  of 
an  ordinary  cook-stove,  while  her  pay  was  twelve  dol 
lars  a  week."  * 

Miss  Jennie  Collins,  who  has  done  untold  good 
among  the  working-women  of  Boston,  repudiates  the 
assertion  that  there  are  any  superfluous  women  in 
Massachusetts.  She  declares  that  there  is  not  one 
woman  who  is  not  needed  in  that  commonwealth. 


*  "What  shall  we  do  with  our  Daughters?"  By  Mary  A. 
Livermore.  Lee  £  Shepard,  Boston  ;  and  Triibner  &  Co.,  Lon 
don. 


WOMEN    IN    VARIOUS    EMPLOYMENTS.         327 

"  What  the  gold  mines  are  to  California  and  the  rice  swamps 
to  Louisiana,  the  working-women  are  to  Massachusetts.  What 
Italy  is  to  the  artist  and  Germany  to  the  musician,  Boston  is  to 
the  gifted  tradeswoman.  The  variety  of  occupations,  and  the 
boundless  enterprise  of  this  city,  presents  a  grand  career  to  a  ca 
pable  young  woman.  A  glance  at  the  shop  window  will  show 
they  improve  it ;  combining,  as  they  do,  the  solidity  of  the  English, 
fine  taste  of  the  French,  and  the  economy  of  the  American, — 
without  the  latter  quality,  no  worker  can  be  a  success.  Boston 
is  like  a  niche  that  can  take  in  a  giant  or  a  dwarf,  so  the  very 
poorest  come  here  as  well  as  the  best." 

With  the  view  of  testing  the  position  of  .the  Massa- 
clpjsetts  factory  operatives  and  shop  girls,  Miss  Col 
lins  examined  the  State  books,  and  found  only  one 
pauper  in  fifty  belonged  to  either  class. 

I  saw  American  women  employed  in  all  kinds  of 
ways — in  staining  and  enamelling  glass,  cutting  ivory, 
pearl,  and  tortoise  shell,  as  well  as  weaving  carpets, 
working  the  looms  for  furniture  and  carriage  draper 
ies  ;  they  are  press  feeders  as  well  as  type-setters,  they 
make  and  pack  candles,  and  cut  glue  in  sheets.  The 
manufacture  of  umbrellas  and  parasols,  and  the  hat 
trade,  give  employment  to  vast  numbers.  There  are 
thousands  of  women  tailors  in  New  York,  and  in  the 
button  trade  the  proportion  of  women  to  men  is  six 
to  one ;  in  fact,  the  openings  in  the  lower  depart 
ments  of  labor  are  too  numerous  to  mention  here.  I 
found  women  employed  in  the  tobacco  factories,  in 
"stemming"  the  weed,  and  preparing  it  for  the  mar 
ket.  Girls  were  packing  chewing  tobacco  in  tin-foil 
at  the  rate  of  thirteen  gross  a  day,  and  judging  from 
the  extent  to  which  this  pernicious  habit  is  practiced 
in  America,  it  must  be  still  difficult  to  keep  the  sup 
ply  in  due  proportion  to  the  demand.  I  saw  no  fac- 


328  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

tory  better  managed  than  Cope's  famous  tobacco 
works  at  Liverpool,  where  the  arrangements  made  for 
the  employees  deserve  the  highest  encomiums.  The 
rooms  are  spacious,  and  the  girls  look  very  contented 
with  the  work  of  rolling  up  the  leaves,  the  best  work 
ers  making  from  ten  to  twelve  hundred  cigars  a  day. 

At  a  recent  Trade  Union  Congress  at  Manchester 
the  appointment  of  women  as  factory  inspectors  was 
urged.  Many  people  resent  the  action  of  the  Legis 
lature  in  regard  to  the  employment  of  women,  as  it 
sometimes,  inflicts  a  grievous  wrong  on  women  able 
and  willing  to  work.  Night-work,  however  light  and 
suitable  in  its  character,  is  interdicted ;  and,  in  many 
cases  where  women  were  employed,  the  labor  of  men 
or  machinery  has  been  substituted,  and  women  are 
thus  deprived  of  occupations  well  suited  to  their 
strength  and  organization. 

Why  the  Factory  and  Workshop  Act  interferes 
with  women  who  work  for  dressmakers  and  in  facto 
ries,  and  yet  leaves  the  shop  girls  free  and  unfettered 
as  to  the  hours  they  serve,  no  one  can  say.  Perhaps 
if  ladies  of  experience  and  sound  judgment  were  ap 
pointed,  like  the  late  Mrs.  Nassau  Senior,  to  look  af 
ter  the  interests  of  their  working  sisters  as  factory 
inspectors,  some  light  might  be  thrown  upon  the  sub 
ject.  However,  we  are  already  moving  in  the  right 
direction ;  women  are  not  only  elected  on  our  School 
Boards,  but  this  year  there  are  thirty-six  ladies  serv 
ing  as  Poor  Law  guardians  in  England,  eight  in  Scot 
land,  and  ratepayers  are  evidently  beginning  to  ap 
preciate  the  advantages  of  having  ladies  to  represent 
them. 

"  I  doubt  if  anywhere  on  earth  a  more  wretched, 


"  CO-OPERATIVE    SHIRT-MAKING."  329 

poverty-stricken  lot  of  women  can  be  found  than  the 
shirt-makers  in  our  large  cities,"  said  a  New  York  phi 
lanthropist  to  me  one  day  ;  "  they  receive  a  miserable 
pittance  for  their  toil."  Various  efforts  have  been  made 
to  improve  their  condition,  but  no  such  success  has  been 
achieved  as  that  accomplished  in  London  by  the  en 
terprise  of  the  two  ladies  who  eight  years  ago  opened 
an  establishment  under  the  name  of  "  Hamilton  & 
Co.,"  to  obviate  the  action  of  the  "  middle  men,"  well 
described  as  "  sweaters." 

My  attention  was  first  called  to  "co-operative 
shirt-making  "  by  Leonard  Montefiore — a  high-spir 
ited,  noble-hearted  worker  in  social  reform — whose 
memory  is  still  cherished  by  many  on  both  sides  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  whose  early  death,  while  he  was 
visiting  the  United  States,  in  order  to  see  for  himself 
what  could  be  learned  from  the  political  and  social 
condition  of  the  people,  must  ever  be  deplored.  The 
world  can  ill  afford  to  lose  men  of  such  deep  thought 
and  energetic  action.  The  firm  was  then  in  its.  in 
fancy,  the  partners  working  at  a  loss,  but  paying  the 
employees  in  full ;  but,  after  many  a  struggle,  it  suc 
ceeded  in  obtaining  a  secure  commercial  basis,  out 
grew  the  small  premises  it  commenced  in,  and  latterly 
has  blossomed  out  into  an  extensive  place  in  Regent 
Street,  paying  a  dividend  of  eleven  per  cent.  It  has 
also  become  a  genuine  co-operative  business,  the  old 
firm  being  submerged  in'  a  limited  company,  one 
thousand  £i  shares  furnishing  the  increased  capital 
necessary,  of  which  not  less  than  ten  are  allotted  to 
any  but  the  work-people.  Miss  Hamilton  and  Miss 
Edith  Simcox  have  done  much  to  awaken  the  con 
science  of  an  English  public  to  the  consequences  of 


33°  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  starvation  wages."  A  woman's  love  of  "  a  bargain  " 
has  passed  into  a  joke,  but  if  ladies  knew  how  these 
are  obtained  at  the  cheap  outfitting  establishments, 
they  would  surely  shrink  from  advantages  purchased 
at  the  cost  of  the  very  heart's  blood  of  their  fellow- 
creatures. 

When  I  was  leaving  America  at  the  conclusion  of 
my  first  tour  in  1873,  during  the  luncheon  given  to  me 
by  the  White  Star  Steamer  Company,  on  board  the 
Oceanic  the  day  before  I  sailed,  a  representative  of  the 
Elgin  Watch  Factory  presented  me  with  a  package 
containing  a  handsome  gold  watch,  on  which  my  name 
was  engraved,  and  the  following  unexpected  letter : 

"  Please  accept  this  little  time-keeper  as  a  token  of  regard  and 
good  wishes  from  the  women  of  the  National  Elgin  Watch 
Factory.  The  hands  of  the  many  working-women  who  have 
been  busy  in  its  fashioning  are  thus  extended  to  you  in  sincerest 
appreciation  of  the  work  you  are  doing  •  in  helping  others  to  help 
themselves.'  May  the  future  bring  you  again  amongst  your  many 
American  friends." 

The  watch  bearing  this  kind  inscription  has  ever 
since  been  my  constant  companion,  and  I  naturally 
resolved  that  if  I  ever  revisited  America  a  journey  to 
Elgin  should  form  part  of  my  programme. 

On  the  2 1st  of  March,  1884,  I  was  able  to  carry  out 
this  intention.  Accompanied  by  some  friends,  and  a 
member  of  the  firm,  I  left  Chicago  by  an  early  morn 
ing  train,  and  spent  a  very  pleasant  day  in  going 
through  that  vast  factory. 

The  introduction  of  the  labor-saving  contrivances 
by  which  the  watch  trade  was  wrested  from  Switzer 
land  and  England  is  due  to  the  promoters  of  the 
Waltham  Company,  who  started  in  Massachusetts  a 


THE    ELGIN    WATCH    FACTORY.  33! 

factory  which  now  employs  about  2,500  operatives, 
and  turns  out  watches  which  not  only  command  a 
great  sale  in  America,  but  also  in  Europe.  The  suc 
cess  of  this  concern  induced  some  Chicago  capitalists 
to  open  a  Western  factory  at  Elgin,  and  in  a  com 
paratively  short  time  they  were  producing  five 
hundred  watches  a  day,  which  were  sold  as  fast  as 
they  were  produced. 

The  Elgin  factory  is  built  in  the  form  of  a  block  T- 
The  wings  stretch  east,  west,  and  south,  and  are  each 
a  hundred  feet  long.  I  confess  I  found  the  minute 
inspection  of  that  great  building  about  as  hard  a  day's 
work  as  I  could  well  accomplish.  Passing  from  the 
room  where  the  designers  were  busy  in  draughting 
machinery,  we  entered  the  machine  shop,  and  from 
thence  into  the  plate  room,  where  a  number  of 
women  were  at  work  at  small  lathes,  some  drilling  the 
holes  required  in  each  plate,  and  others  inserting  the 
various  steady  pins  in  the  bars  and  bridges.  The  de 
partment  in  which  the  wheels  and  pinions  are  man 
ufactured  interested  me  the  most.  There  the  girls 
were  turning  and  shaping  the  various  pieces,  others 
making  "  barrels  " — the  technical  name  of  the  main 
spring  boxes. 

One  set  gives  a  rough  shape  to  the  barrel,  the  next 
cuts  to  size  the  rim  on  which  the  teeth  are  cut,  the 
third  "  making  place  for  the  stop-work,"  while  others 
receive  the  barrels  from  "  the  tooth  cutters,"  and 
give  them  a  final  touch  with  a  sapphire  cutter.  The 
making  of  pinions  is  a  very  interesting  branch  of  the 
work  to  the  visitor.  A  little  piece  of  wire,  after  a 
move  or  two  of  the  lathe,  comes  out  beautifully 
pointed  ;  the  next  lathe  trims  it  to  the  required  shape. 


332  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  The  triumph  of  mechanism  "  is  said  to  be  reached 
in  this  series  of  automatic  lathes.  The  operative 
places  the  work  in  the  tool,  and  sets  it  running;  and 
when  the  cut  is  made,  she  removes  that  piece  and  sub 
stitutes  another  with  such  rapidity  that  more  than 
2,000  pieces  are  made  in  a  day  of  about  one  two- 
hundredths  of  an  inch  diameter,  a  size  which  a  hand 
watch-maker  could  not  make  without  the  aid  of  a 
strong  glass.  Other  girls  take  blank  wheels  and  place 
them  in  a  stack  under  a  bolt.  A  lever  arm,  which 
works  a  traversing  bar,  in  which  is  a  flying  cutter, 
shaped  like  a  tiny  bird's  claw,  enables  the  operative  to 
cut  the  necessary  groove,  another  stack  of  blank 
wheels  is  advanced,  and  at  last  the  whole  circumfer 
ence  is  filled  with  grooves,  and  you  find  twenty-five 
complete  wheels  with  finished  teeth  ;  and  each  girl  can 
make  about  1,500  in  ten  hours. 

This  work  is  then  polished  and  finished  by  mar 
vellous  machines,  which  imitate  the  hand-worker's 
motions  with  accuracy  and  rapidity,  and  without 
ever  making  any  mistakes.  The  manufacture  of 
screws  is  an  attractive  branch  of  the  work ;  20,000 
of  the  smaller  ones  only  weigh  one  pound.  In 
the  escapement  department  we  found  girls  cutting 
and  polishing  ruby,  garnet,  and  chrysolite  with  abso 
lute  accuracy.  In  London  it  takes  an  apprentice 
seven  years  to  learn  what  a  girl  machinist  becomes 
a  proficient  in  after  the  first  twelve  months'  work. 
The  shaping  and  polishing  of  the  pallet  stones  re 
quire  to  be  done  with  great  precision,  but  the  perfec 
tion  of  the  Elgin  machinery  calls  for  nothing  from 
the  operative  but  a  due  appreciation  of  the  finish 
necessary  to  the  acting  planes  and  angles  of  the 


GIRLS    AS    WATCH-MAKERS.  333 

stones.  The  girls  are  also  employed  in  the  steel  work 
of  the  pallets,  levers,  and  rollers,  and  have  lately  been 
entrusted  with  some  delicate  details  of  the  work  which 
it  was  once  thought  would  be  beyond  their  capacity. 
They  also  fit  dials  and  hands,  match  the  wheels  and  pin 
ions,  get  the  watch  ready  for  the  gilder,  make  the  hair 
springs,  put  the  trains  into  the  movements,  time  the 
watches  after  they  are  set  going,  and,  in  fact,  adjust 
the  finished  parts.  In  the  painting  of  the  dials  the 
girls  do  not  need  a  long  apprenticeship,  and  are 
said  to  be  able  to  equal  masculine  work  both  as  re 
gards  rapidity  and  precision.  The  bookkeeping  de 
partment  is  entirely  confided  to  female  hands  and 
heads.  They  are  earning  good  wages.  The  work 
rooms  are  quiet,  clean,  and  well  ventilated,  and  a 
pretty  apron  covers  the  dress  of  the  operatives,  and 
gives  them  quite  a  pleasing  appearance.  About  a 
hundred  yards  from  the  factory,  a  capital,  well-organ 
ized  hotel  has  been  built  for  the  benefit  of  the  em 
ployees.  The  large  dining-room  is  common  prop 
erty,  but  half  of  the  rest  of  the  house  is  assigned  to 
the  men,  and  the  women  have  their  own  separate  par 
lor,  and  a  matron  who  looks  after  their  welfare  gen 
erally.  Here  they  can  live  in  comfort  for  a  very 
moderate  expenditure,  and  are  close  to  their  work. 
At  Waltham  there  is  not  only  a  large  boarding-house 
attached  to  the  factory,  but  many  of  the  operatives 
have  been  able  to  build  some  neat  residences  of  their 
own  on  the  company's  land. 

No  cases  are  made  at  Elgin  for  the  watches ;  that 
is  regarded  as  a  separate  business ;  the  movements 
are  packed  in  little  boxes,  and  thus  purchased  by  the 
trade  ;  but  as  they  are  numbered,  he  knows  at  once 


334  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

what  case  to  order.  One  advantage  of  this  practice 
is,  that  a  poor  man  is  able  to  purchase  the  best  move 
ments,  and  place  them  in  a  silver  case  ;  when  he 
grows  richer,  he  orders  a  good  case,  which  he  substi 
tutes  for  the  one  which  first  did  service.  Americans 
are  of  course  able  by  their  process  to  produce  good 
watches  at  a  cheaper  rate  than  we  can  in  England ; 
for  while  it  takes  about  seventy  hours  of  skilled  hand- 
labor  to  manufacture  a  watch  here,  it  can  be  produced 
the^e  in  thirty  hours  by  girl  operatives ;  and  such  is 
the  exactitude  of  the  machine-made  watch,  that  any 
part  to  which  an  accident  may  happen  while  in  use 
can  be  replaced.  The  dealer  has  only  to  send  to  the 
factory  and  purchase  its  duplicate,  and  the  watch  is 
as  good  as  new.  In  England,  the  different  parts  of 
a  watch  are  made  by  different  persons  living  far  apart, 
and  are  purchased  by  the  watch-makers  and  put 
together  ready  for  purchase.  In  America  the  machines 
I  have  described  manufacture  every  plate,  wheel, 
pinion,  and  screw  used  under  the  same  roof. .  The 
Swiss,  from  the  low  price  of  labor,  and  the  extensive 
employment  of  women  and  children,  have  always 
triumphed  over  all  European  competition  in  the  mat 
ter  of  cheapness  ;  and  they  have  lately  availed  them 
selves  to  some  extent  of  American  machinery,  by 
which  it  is  said  they  are  regaining  some  of  the  ground 
they  lost  when  the  Waltham  and  Elgin  factories  were 
first  started.  The  American  consul  at  Geneva  re 
cently  reported  to  his  government  the  result  of  a 
recent  test  of  English,  Swiss,  and  American  watches, 
under  circumstances  which  forbid  any  idea  of  fraud 
or  error.  "  It  was  found,"  he  writes,  "  that  the  Swiss 
watches  were  superior  to  all  others,  and  the  English, 


MACHINERY    AND    HAND-LABOR.  ^J5 

in  point  of  merit,  came  next.  The  Swiss  watches 
were  the  cheapest  as  well  as  the  best."  They  have 
taken  American  machinery  and  supplemented  it  by  a 
manual  skill  and  system  of  technical  training,  which 
is  said  not  to  exist  elsewhere.  On  the  other  hand, 
an  English  watch-maker,  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
London  Horological  Institute  describing  the  results 
of  a  visit  he  had  paid  to  the  watch  factories  of  Amer 
ica,  stated  :  "  I  felt  at  once  that  the  manufacture  of 
watches  on  the  old  plan  was  gone."  He  considered 
that  American  enterprise  had  made  an  epoch  in  the 
trade,  and  beaten  Europe  in  one  of  her  oldest  and 
most  difficult  productions.  Certainly  the  national 
watch  has  a  claim  to  be  considered  "  as  the  true  re 
publican  heirloom,  a  triumph  of  industry  in  an  age 
of  industry,  a  product  of  American  enterprise,  mod 
erate  in  cost,  and  accessible  to  the  body  of  the 
people." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

The  American  girl — Oscar  Wilde's  definition — A  group  at  St. 
Louis — Girl  graduates — Other  types — The  liberty  accorded  to 
girls — A  collegiate's  affronted  dignity  at  the  suggestion  of  a 
chaperon — English '  and  French  restrictions — America  the 
paradise  of  married  women — The  deference  paid  by  gentle 
men  to  ladies — A  report  of  a  woman's  meeting  excites  a  "  Tit- 
for-Tat "  policy  in  a  lady  reporter — Changed  spirit  of  the 
press — A  skit  on  a  woman's  rights  lecture  contrasted  with  the 
dignified  utterances  of  Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs.  Stanton,  and  Mrs. 
Livermore — Grace  Greenwood  on  "  sufferance  " — Queen  Vic 
toria  as  a  politician,  wife,  and  mother — Mr.  Woodall's  Bill. 

WHEN  Oscar  Wilde  returned  from  the  United 
States  he  gave  London  the  benefit  of  "  his  impres 
sions,"  in  a  lecture  delivered  at  Prince's  Hall,  in  which 
he  described  the  American  girl  as  "  the  most  fasci 
nating  little  despot  in  the  world ;  an  oasis  of  pic 
turesque  unreasonableness  in  a  dreadful  desert  of 
common  sense." 

Doubtless  many  maidens  sat  at  the  feet  of  the 
apostle  of  the  sunflower,  and  yet  subjected  him  to 
delightful  tyrannies  while  pleading  for  "  a  smile  of 
sad  perfection  "  from  the  "  purple-eyed  poet."  The 
other  day  I  read  a  description  of  the  American  girl, 
which  called  her  "  champagny — glittering,  foamy, 
bubbly,  sweet,  dry,  tart,  in  a  word,  fizzy  !  '  She  has 
not  the  dreamy,  magical,  murmury  lovcableness  of 
the  Italian,  but  there  is  a  cosmopolitan  combination 
which  makes  her  a  most  attractive  coquette,  a  sort 
of  social  catechism — full  of  answer  and  question." 
(336) 


AMERICAN    GIRLS. 


337 


There  are,  however,  "  girls  and  girls  "  in  America 
as  elsewhere,  and  perhaps  more  rarities  than  even 
England's  representative  aesthetic  ever  dreamt  of 
can  be  found  there.  There  are  girls  after  the  type 
of  Miss  Alcott's  Joes  and  Dolly  Wards,  Bret  Harte's 
Higgles  and  M'liss,  and  Mr.  James's  Daisy  Miller. 
Indeed,  I  feel  more  and  more  bewildered  as  I  try  to 
think  which  should  be  taken  as  strictly  typical — save 

the  one 

"  So  frankly  free, 
So  tender  and  so  good  to  see, 
Because  she  is  so  sweet." 

In  that  connection  my  mind  reverts  to  a  bevy  of  fair 
girls  in  St.  Louis,  fresh  from  that  characteristic 
American  institution,  "  a  young  lady's  lunch,"  from 
which  parents  and  guardians  had  been  rigidly  ex 
cluded.  Twenty  maidens — none  of  them  "  love-sick/' 
like  Messrs.  Gilbert  and  Sullivan's  damsels,  if  I  could 
judge  by  their  buoyant  spirits  and  ringing  laughter — 
who,  unfettered  by  the  restraining  presence  of  any 
one  whose  age  exceeded  their  number,  had  enjoyed  a 
real  "  elegant  time,"  before  they  joined  the  pleasant 
circle  bidden  to  welcome  me  at  Mrs.  Pulsifer's.  Visions 
then  arise  of  girl  graduates  engrossed  in  struggles  for 
academic  honors,  with  definite  plans  of  "  a  future 
career "  well  mapped  up  already;  others  flit  before 
me  who  appeared  only  to  live  for  dress  and  pleasure ; 
whose  chief  anxiety  was  the  preservation  of  delicate 
complexions  by  manifold  artifices ;  whose  meat  and 
drink  was  the  poisonous  flattery  always  within  the 
reach  of  the  frivolous  and  the  vain  ;  whose  most  in 
tellectual  exercise  was  the  discussion  of  dress  trim 
mings,  with  equally  idle  blast  female  friends,  and 
15 


338  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

whose  most  serious  pursuits  were  flirtations  accom 
panied  by  a  thousand  petty  jealousies,  mercenary  matri 
monial  ambitions,  and  dime-novel  reading.  Then 
there  are  the  girls  who  know  everything,  and  talk  on 
all  subjects  with  equal  volubility  and  incorrectness. 
I  saw  too  the  languid  specimen,  with  pallid  face  and 
phantom  delicacy  of  outline,  who  can  not  "  walk  a 
block  "  or  pass  a  day  without  the  aid  of  a  rocking- 
chair,  and  a  softly-cushioned  sofa,  supplemented  by 
an  afternoon's  repose  in  her  own  chamber.  There  is 
the  strait-laced  New  England  girl,  and  the  wild  but 
good-hearted  Western  product,  endowed  with  a 
healthy  frame  and  muscles  which  beat  time  to  the 
music  of  nature,  but  full  of  wayward  fancies,  and  given 
to  the  use  of  strange  words  and  phrases.  Her  exist 
ence  is  one  never-ending  round  of  sensational  and 
mental  shocks,  which  keep  her  in  a  nervous  quiver, 
and  allow  no  time  for  any  quality  save  that  of  energy 
to  develop  itself  symmetrically.  But  it  did  not  seem 
to  me  that  American  young  ladies  are  by  any  means 
fashioned  after  the  same  pattern  as  certain  novelists 
would  have  Europeans  imagine ;  nor  can  they  be 
simply  summed  up  as  independent,  self-reliant,  intel 
ligent,  frank,  bright,  generous,  or  impulsive  beings, 
who  can  go  anywhere  or  do  anything. 

An  American  girl  is  happily  not  yet  hampered  by 
the  arbitrary  red-tape  regulation  which  weighs  down 
the  souls  of  some  of  her  less  fortunate  European  sis 
ters.  Pleasant  social  intercourse  with  other  girls' 
brothers  is  not  fenced  in  with  French  or  even  Eng 
lish  rigorous  restrictions.  She  may  receiv£  an  "  after 
noon  call "  from  a  gentleman  without  having  gone 
through,  or  even  thought  of,  the  formality  of  a  defi- 


SOCIAL    CUSTOMS    CONTRASTED.  339 

nite  engagement  to  marry  him.  He  asks  at  the  door 
for  her — not  for  her  mother  or  chaperon — and  she 
proceeds  to  the  drawing-room  for  a  t$te-a-tete  in  the 
most  natural  matter-of-fact  way  possible.  In  some 
circles  she  still  goes  out  driving  or  sleighing,  or  even 
to  the  theatre,  with  the  young  men  of  her  acquaint 
ance,  without  getting  herself  "  talked  about,"  or  be 
coming  the  scandal  of  the  neighborhood  as  she  would 
for  similar  freedoms  in  Great  Britain. 

But  the  well-bred  American  girl  does  not  act  in 
the  outrageous  fashion,  or  enjoy  the  wild  liberty 
painted  in  highly-colored  pictures  of  life  across  the 
Atlantic.  Gradually  European  etiquette  has  obtained 
a  hold  in  the  Great  Republic,  and  in  good  society 
the  girls  of  to-day  do  not  go  about  with  even  the 
freedom  they  exhibited  during  my  first  visit  ten  years 
ago. 

But  I  had  a  curious  illustration  of  how  such  re 
strictions  are  sometimes  regarded.  A  frank,  manly 
specimen  of  a  New  England  College  man,  who  was 
home  for  a  week's  vacation,  asked  his  mother,  in  my 
presence,  for  the  loan  of  her  brougham,  if  a  certain 
young  lady  accompanied  him  on  the  following  night 
to  the  theatre.  "  I  shall  not  take  her,"  he  added 
with  stern  dignity,  "  if  she  has  these  new-fangled 
English  notions  of  needing  a  chaperon."  His  mother 
afterward  explained  to  me,  that  he  still  regarded  the 
necessity  of  a  chaperon  as  casting  a  direct  suspicion 
on  his  behavior,  and  resented  it  accordingly. 

Although  greater  liberty  than  English  girls  possess 
is  still  accorded  in  certain  American  circles  in  the 
case  of  bachelor  friends,  a  girl  is  not  allowed  by  the 
unwritten  law  of  society  to  go  out  alone  with  any 


34-O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

married  gentleman.  While  staying  at  the  New  York 
Hotel  I  was  much  amused  at  finding  a  girl,  who  had 
gone  to  the  theatre  a  few  nights  previously  with  a 
young  man  to  whom  she  had  only  been  introduced 
the  day  before,  show  considerable  surprise,  mixed 
with  a  little  righteous  indignation,  when  an  English 
man  she  knew  very  well  asked  her  to  accompany  him 
to  Wallack's  in  the  place  of  his  wife,  who  had  "  seen 
the  play  and  did  not  care  to  go."  To  be  escorted 
by  a  married  man  would  be  considered  incorrect  in 
New  York,  while  the  very  reverse  holds  good  with 
us  in  London  ;  a  married  friend  of  the  family,  under 
such  circumstances,  might  be  admissible,  but  no  Eng 
lish  girl  could  go  to  a  play  alone  with  a  bachelor,  with 
out  affording  food  for  unpleasant  gossip,  and  out 
raging  conventional  propriety. 

Miss  Kate  Field,  who  has  spent  a  great  deal  of  time 
in  London,  wrote,  during  one  of  her  first  visits  there, 
a  letter  to  the  New  York  Christian  Union,  in  which 
she  said : 

"  Unmarried  women  in  Europe  are  suppressed  to  an  intolerable 
extent.  To  me,  they  and  their  dreadful  maids  are  the  most  for 
lorn  as  well  as  the  absurdest  of  sights.  German  and  English  girls 
have  often  come  to  me  complaining  of  their  fate,  saying  that  it 
was  well-nigh  maddening,  and  that  they  envied  me  my  liberty. 
*  But  why  not  strike  out  for  yourselves  ?  '  I  have  asked.  '  It  is  all 
very  well  to  say  "  strike  out,"  but  suppose  your  parents  won't  let 
you  ?  Or  suppose,  if  they  do,  all  your  acquaintances  talk  about 
you  and  take  away  your  character?  What  is  there  left  but  sub 
mission?'  What  can  one  say  in  reply?  I  feel  sorry  for  them, 
deplore  with  them,  and  remain  silent,  for  it  takes  more  than  ordi 
nary  courage  to  brave  public  opinion,  however  idiotic  it  may 
be,  and  from  ordinary  persons  you  can  not  expect  extraordinary 
deeds But  the  absurdity  of  the  whole  thing  is,  that  the 


FREEDOM    OF    AMERICAN    WOMEN.  34! 

morals  of  these  people  are  so  elastic  as  to  rather  like  in  strangers 
what  they  condemn  in  their  own  young  women  !  To  receive,  to 
entertain,  seems  to  them  comme  il  faut  \\\  me.  They  come — 
men  and  women — quickly  enough-  when  they  are  asked,  and  ex 
claim  '  How  nice  ! '  Young  men  say,  '  Why. can  not  there  be  the 
same  freedom  and  friendliness  of  intercourse  between  unmarried 
English  men  and  women  here  as  in  America?  You  can  not  im 
agine  how  refreshing  it  is  to  enjoy  a  woman's  acquaintance 
without  fear  and  without  reproach.  The  repression  system  ren 
ders  English  girls,  if  not  stupid,  at  least  self-conscious  and  unin 
teresting,  and  they  are  simply  intolerable  as  companions  until 
after  marriage,  when,  if  there  be  anything  clever  in  them,  an 
assured  position  and  contact  with  the  world  brings  it  out.'  This 
is  what  liberal  Englishmen  say  because  they  are  Anglo-Saxon, 
and  believe  in  women.  Of  course  continental  men  think  the  free 
dom  of  American  women  either  immoral  or  indelicate I 

do  not  think  that  American  men  are  naturally  better  than  other 
men.  They  happen  to  be  born  in  a  more  enlightened  hemi 
sphere,  and  are  surrounded  by  purer  influences,  that  is  all.  While 
the  learned  professors  of  Harvard  University  are  .shaking  their 
wise  heads  and  predicting  all  sorts  of  horrible  results  from  the 
association  of  the  sexes,  Oberlin  and  Antioch  Colleges  in  Ohio, 
and  Michigan  University,  demonstrate,  by  practical  experience, 
how  utterly  foolish  are  these  mediaeval  nightmares.  What  Cam 
bridge  is  to  the  West,  Europe  is  to  Cambridge.  The  East  seems 
to  be  a  synonym  for  whatever  is  retrograde.  Wyoming  Territory 
sets  an  example  to  States  founded  before  it  was  dreamed  of." 

Certainly,  outside  the  fast  set  in  the  cities,  I  be 
lieve  there  is  no  country  which  holds  woman's  honor 
more  sacred  than  America.  A  girl's  reputation  is 
neither  a  matter  to  be  talked  about,  nor  guarded  day 
by  day  by  watchful  mothers  and  chaperons.  The 
happy  medium  course,  in  this  as  in  most  things,  is 
what  is  required,  and  this  perhaps  neither  country 
has  as  yet  achieved.  Prudish  barriers  lead  to  much 
misunderstanding  in  the  one  case,  and  in  the  other 


342  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

there  is  a  freedom  which  can  easily  be  distorted  into 
license. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  American  girls  were  more 
sprightly  and  far  cleverer  than  boys  of  their  own  age, 
and  many  of  them  managed  to  take  the  lead  without 
being  pert,  fast,  or  unfeminine ;  while  wandering  where 
their  fancy  took  them,  in  a  manner  which  would  make 
every  separate  hair  on  the  head  of  the  conventional 
English  mother  stand  on  end,  they  evinced  a  dig 
nity  and  self-respect  which  surrounded  them  with  a 
protection  far  more  valuable  than  any  which  could  be 
extended  by  parents  and  guardians. 

I  wonder  what  American  girls  would  think  of  the 
woes  just  confided  to  me  by  a  young  English  friend 
I  chanced  to  meet  the  other  day.  She  is  supposed 
to  have  "  outraged  propriety,"  because  a  young  gen 
tleman  who  is  paying  great  attention  to  her,  used  to 
meet  her  in  her  walks  and  sometimes  accompany  her 
to  her  brother's  door.  She  is  considered  old  enough 
to  keep  his  house,  but  the  right  of  choosing  her  own 
friends  is  denied  her,  and  accordingly  she  is  forbidden 
to  walk  abroad  under  pain  of  being  dismissed  from 
her  honorary  position  of  housekeeper  to  a  brother 
about  the  same  age  as  herself !  This  is  of  course  an 
exceptional  case,  almost  approaching  the  French  sys 
tem  of  surveillance,  which  is  as  utterly  wrong  from 
beginning  to  end  as  any  idea  that  ever  took  posses 
sion  of  a  sagacious  people.  The  continental  idealiza 
tion  of  angelic  virtue  does  not  compare  with  the 
English  or  American  girl  for  either  firmness  of  pur 
pose  or  high  principle.  Nature  revenges  herself  in 
morbid  and  unhealthy  growths. 

The   rich  American  woman  has   undoubtedly   "  a 


AMERICAN    WIVES.  343 

good  time,"  and  I  am  prepared  to  maintain  that,  on 
the  whole,  America  is  a  paradise  for  married  women- 
I  do  not  mean  "  that  wives  are  pampered,  or  hus 
bands  put  upon,"  far  less  that  there  are  no  such 
things  as  unhappy  marriages  and  tyrannical  husbands 
in  the  United  States,  but  generally  speaking  a  chiv 
alrous  courtesy  accords  a  wife  far  greater  liberty  of 
action  than  can  be  found  in  middle-class  English 
families,  and  I  do  not  think  that  American  husbands 
have  had  any  cause  to  regret  it.  Ladies  who  live  in 
magnificent  houses  of  course  find  their  household 
cares  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  they  have  absolute 
command  over  their  own  time,  society,  and  amuse 
ments,  while  life  in  hotels  deprives  a  wife  of  all  do 
mestic  burdens,  and  sometimes  acts  in  anything  but 
a  beneficial  way ;  for  instance,  as  there  is  no  "  family 
breakfast "  to  be  arranged,  the  husband  unheeded 
will  forage  for  himself  as  he  goes  past  the  breakfast- 
room  on  his  way  to  his  office.  I  have  sometimes 
seen  several  members  of  one  family  having  meals  at 
different  times  throughout  the  day — a  great  conveni 
ence  for  special  occasions,  but  somewhat  destructive 
of  the  family  gathering  we  prize  so  much  in  England. 
"Going  into  housekeeping"  is  the  strange  phrase 
which  continually  meets  one's  ear  in  an  American 
hotel,  when  a  growing  family  or  increasing  banking 
balance  suggests  the  establishment  of  a  home. 
Young  married  couples  generally  begin  their  career 
in  hotels  where  they  can  obtain  all  they  require  on 
moderate  terms,  and  escape  that  terrible  "  servant 
question." 

The  labor  difficulty  in  America  has  forced  people 
to  build  houses  with  far  better  appliances   than  can1 


344  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

be  obtained  in  those  of  the  same  calibre  here.  For 
instance,  the  dining-rooms  are  always  furnished  with 
a  lift,  so  that  everything  steals  up  quietly  through  the 
walls,  instead  of  being  carried  by  human  hands  on 
heavy  trays  up  long  flights  of  stairs.  Bath-rooms 
abound,  and  marble  washing-stands  with  hot  and  cold 
water  taps,  and  a  waste  pipe  in  each  bedroom  di 
minish  the  housework.  The  mode  of  heating  the 
houses  dispenses  with  grate-cleaning,  fire-making,  and 
taking  heavy  scuttles  of  coals  throughout  the  hou*e. 
I  was  altogether  struck  with  the  handsome  houses  in 
America,  the  beautiful  doorways,  the  massive  wood 
work  and  carved  panellings,  and  the  unusual  depth 
and  length  of  the  reception  rooms. 

The  polite  deference  shown  by  American  gentle 
men  to  ladies  outside  the  family  circle,  certainly  de 
serves  the  very  cordial  recognition  of  an  Englishwoman 
who  has  travelled  unattended,  with  only  another  lady, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  received  in  all 
these  long  journeys  every  kindness  and  consideration 
which  could  be  offered  by  strangers.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  impossible  to  resist  a  smile  at  the  national 
politeness  which  compels  an  American  to  lift  his  hat 
and  remain  bareheaded  if  a  lady  enters  the  hotel  ele 
vator,  and  yet  permits  him  to  spit  in  front  of  her  be 
fore  they  reach  the  next  landing,  and  also  through 
out  the  Pullman  cars,  which  are  duly  provided  with 
spittoons  for  that  unpleasant  necessity  of  Yankee 
existence. 

In  private  houses  of  the  best  sort  the  use  of  the 
spittoon  is  fortunately  becoming  a  "  lost  art,"  but  it 
must  be  urged  in  defence  of  this  repulsive  habit  that 
the  climate  without  doubt  affects  the  throat  and  pro- 


"TIT    FOR    TAT."  345 

duces  an  irritation  from  which  Europeans  are  wholly 
free,  unless  they  have  some  special  complaint. 

The  consideration  paid  to  ladies  by  an  American 
gentleman  in  his  private  capacity  is  not  always  ac 
corded  to  them  in  the  exercise  of  his  journalistic  ca 
pacity.  Those  who  were  first  in  the  field  of  social 
reform  had  to  encounter  the  same  kind  of  treatment 
which  early  English  workers  experienced.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  by  eccentricity  of  dress,  an  utter 
want  of  humor,  and  violence  of  language,  some  ladies 
brought  it  on  themselves,  but  in  many  cases  it  was 
wholly  undeserved.  But  it  is  not  very  difficult  to 
raise  a  laugh  by  introducing  personal  descriptions  of 
dress  and  appearance  into  the  reports  of  meetings 
held  for  sober  purposes  and  conducted  with  proper 
dignity  and  decorum. 

I  was  much  amused  by  a  reprisal  termed  "  Tit  for 
Tat,"  which  appeared  in  an  American  paper,  pur 
porting  to  be  written  by  a  lady  reporter,  describing  a 
gentlemen's  meeting  in  the  same  facetious  style : 

"The  New  York  Geographical  Society  held  a  meeting  in 
Cooper  Institute,  the  occasion  being  the  reception  of  the  sur 
vivors  of  the  Polaris  Expedition.  There  were  present  the  usual 
well-known  veterans  of  the  cause,  together  with  a  few  rafw  re 
cruits.  The  proceedings  were  opened  by  Judge  Daly,  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  Society.  This  venerable  member  of  the  shrieking 
brotherhood  was  attired  in  black  of  a  sombre  and  dismal  cut,  en 
livened  somewhat  by  a  checkered  waistcoat.  His  gray  hair,  which 
he  wore  unusually  long,  was  combed  back,  and  his  plain  face 
looked  worried  and  anxious,  as  if  he  were  oppressed  with  the  re 
sponsibilities  of  the  occasion.  He  read  from  a  paper  a  restate 
ment  of  the  usual  arguments  employed  at  such  meetings,  which 
were  received  with  applause  by  some  of  the  more  aggressive  of 
the  cackling  roosters  present.  Mr.  Conkling  then  rose  to  read 

'5* 


346  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  list  of  new  members.  This  gentleman,  who  is  not  so  young 
as  he  was  forty  years  ago,  was  tastefully  attired  in  dark  blue, 
with  a  fascinating  pair  of  eye-glasses  perched  on  his  shapely 
nose  ;  his  hair  and  beard,  of  a  charming  whiteness,  were  dressed 
in  the  newest  style,  and  he  read  off  the  list  of  prominent  panta 
loon  politicians  with  evident  gusto.  Dr.  J.  L.  Hayes,  the  orator 
of  the  evening,  was  then  introduced.  This  well-known  scolder  is 
of  thin  and  wiry  figure,  with  sharp  features  and  deep- set  eyes. 
He  was  dressed  in  black,  with  a  white  collar  and  a  very  small 
necktie.  His  hair,  which  is  dark,  was  somewhat  dishevelled — 
his  whole  appearance  wild.  He  began  his  would  be  lecture  with 
the  usual  rehash  .of  sailors'  wrongs,  going  back  a  thousand  years 
for  instances  of  what  men  have  suffered  and  the  prowess  they 
have  exhibited,  winding  up  with  the  well-worn  denunciation  of 
the  tyrant  Nature.  The  doctor  was  very  lively  during  portions 
of  his  discourse,  waving  his  arms,  and  at  times  gesticulating 
nimbly,  to  the  evident  delight  of  the  weak-minded  fraternity,  who 
faithfully  applauded  every  point  which  seemed  to  advocate  their 
favorite  aims.  After  remarks  by  the  guests  of  the  evening,  not 
worthy  of  note,  as  they  presented  nothing  new,  and  were  none 
of  them  young  and  handsome,  Mr.  Bradford,  the  artist,  was  in 
troduced.  This  personage,  who  is,  like  all  the  rest  of  the  shriek 
ing  brotherhood,  in  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf,  was  also  attired  in 
a  sober  suit  of  melancholy  black.  Why  will  all  the  men  wear 
black  in  public? — as  Mark  Twain  says,  it  really  is  'monotonous.' 
Mr.  Bradford  reasserted  the  arguments  already  advanced,  his  fine 
blue  eyes  rolling  madly  as  he  grew  eloquent  over  the  woes  of  the 
down-trodden  sex." 

A  great  change,  however,  has  come  over  the  spirit 
of  the  press  in  both  countries  since  those  lines  were 
penned.  Meetings  now  held  by  women  are,  for  the 
most  part,  reported  in  a  generous  and  courteous  spirit. 

It  is  popularly  supposed  in  England  that  the 
advocacy  of  woman's  suffrage  in  the  United  States 
meets  at  least  with  the  ready  sympathy  of  the  entire 
sex  ;  but  I  found  myself  constantly  in  circles  where  it 


A    LECTURE    PARODY.  347 

was  regarded  as  the  most  "  serious  revolution  which 
could  be  imagined."  Singular  suspicions  of  the  lady 
lecturers  on  this  subject  are  still  entertained  by  other 
wise  well-informed  intelligent  people.  I  am  not  sure 
if  some  do  not  really  believe  that  the  peculiar  address 
attributed  to  one  Mrs.  Rose  Skinner  is  a  true  sample 
of  "  women's  rights  "  arguments. 

"  Miss  President,  feller-wimmen,  and  male  trash  generally.  I 
am  here  to-day  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  woman's  rights,  re- 
cussing  her  wrongs,  and  cussing  the  men. 

"  I  believe  sexes  were  created  perfectly  equal,  with  the  woman 
a  little  more  equal  than  the  man. 

"  I  believe  that  the  world  would  to-day  be  happier  if  man  never 
existed. 

"  As  a  success  man  is  a  failure,  and  I  bless  my  stars  my  mother 
was  a  woman.  (Applause.) 

"  I  not  only  maintain  those  principles,  but  maintain  a  shiftless 
husband  besides. 

"  They  say  man  was  created  first — Well,  s'pose  he  was.  Ain't 
first  experiments  always  failures  ? 

"  If  I  was  a  betting  man,  I  would  bet  150  dollars  they  are. 

"  The  only  decent  thing  about  him  was  a  rib,  and  that  went  to 
make  something  better.  (Applause.) 

"  And  they  throw  into  our  faces  about  taking  an  apple.  I'll 
bet  five  dollars  that  Adam  boosted  her  up  the  tree,  and  only  gave 
her  the  core, 

"  And  what  did  he  do  when  he  was  found  out  ?  True  to  his 
masculine  instincts,  he  sneaked  behind  Eve,  and  said,  '  'Twant 
me  ;  'twas  her,'  and  women  had  to  father  everything,  and  mother 
it  too. 

"  What  we  want  is  the  ballot,  and  the  ballot  we  're  bound  to 
have,  if  we  have  to  let  down  our  back  hair,  and  swim  in  a  sea  of 
gore."  (Sensation.) 

If  the  opponents  of  the  movement  had  ever  taken 
the  trouble  to  listen  to  the  earnest  and  dignified 
utterances  of  Mrs.  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Mrs.  Stanton, 


348  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

and  Mrs.  Livermore,  they  would  have  arrived  at  a 
very  different  conclusion.  But  the  force  of  prejudice 
is  so  strong  that  they  dismiss  the  matter  without  even 
condescending  to  give  it  a  fair  hearing. 

People  who  carelessly  turn  from  the  subject  with  a 
laugh  at  its  u  absurdity/'  or  a  hasty  condemnation  of 
it  as  "  unwomanly,"  are  not  likely  to  understand  the 
intimate  connection  between  political  representation 
and  the  higher  educational  and  industrial  employ 
ments  of  women,  and  therefore  they  fail  to  see  that  it 
is  a  matter  of  urgent  necessity,  rather  than  mere  ab 
stract  justice. 

Nor  has  perfect  unity  prevailed  among  the  leaders 
of  the  agitation  itself.  The  same  personal  dislikes 
and  jealousies  which  have  retarded  the  suffrage  party 
in  England  have  made  themselves  felt  in  America, 
and  for  some  time  the  split  in  the  camp,  Boston  versus 
New  York,  represented  by  Mrs.  Lucy  Stone  on  the 
one  side,  and  Miss  Susan  B.  Anthony  on  the  other, 
seemed  likely  to  mar  the  usefulness  of  both. 

In  America  the  most  valid  argument  advanced  by 
the  opponents  of  the  movement  is  that  even  now  the 
suffrage  is  too  widely  extended  ;  that  in  some  places 
American  votes  are  swamped  by  the  hordes  of  easily 
naturalized  immigrants,  and  that  "  to  give  the  suffrage 
to  women  is  to  send  all  the  ignorant  imported  cooks 
and  chambermaids  to  the  ballot-box." 

In  England  no  such  difficulty  would  arise,  and  it  is 
an  absurd  inconsistency  that  women,  who  may  not 
only  vote  for  vestrymen,  guardians  of  the  poor,  and 
members  of  the  School  Board,  but  sit  on  the  School 
Board  and  become  Poor  Law  guardians  themselves, 
may  not  vote  for  members  of  Parliament.  Quite  re- 


WOMAN  S    POLITICAL    STATUS.  349 

cently  a  lady  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  overseer 
in  a  Lincolnshire  parish,  and  Mrs.  Gossett  was  elected 
churchwarden  in  a  parish  in  Wales.  A  Constitution 
which  forbids  a  woman  to  vote,  and  yet  places  on  the 
throne  a  woman  who  affords  a  splendid  example  of 
female  capacity  for  politics,  certainly  presents  a  strange 
anomaly.  I  remember  once  hearing  Lord  Houghton 
say :  "  The  only  political  equality  yet  granted  to 
women  is  the  equality  of  the  scaffold."  "  What 
would  you  do  in  time  of  war  if  you  had  the  suffrage-?" 
said  Horace  Greeley  to  Mrs.  Stanton.  "  Just  what 
you  have  done,  Mr.  Greeley,"  replied  the  ready  lady, 
"stay  at  home,  and  urge  others  to  go  and  fight !  " 

After  many  years  of  work  in  behalf  of  the  indus 
trial  and  educational  interests  of  English  women,  I 
feel  bound  to  say  that  not  only  do  I  consider  women 
entitled  to  a  political  status,  but  I  fear  without  it  they 
will  remain  grievously  overweighted  in  all  their  efforts 
to  obtain  work  and  justice.  In  1875  a  discussion 
took  place  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  Bill  for 
allowing  the  Universities  of  Scotland  to  admit  women 
to  degrees  ;  the  leading  London  paper  remarked  the 
next  morning:  "The  House  did  not  trouble  itself 
to  be  very  much  in  earnest."  This  has  been  the  gen 
eral  attitude  of  Parliament  regarding  questions  re 
lating  to  the  welfare  of  women,  and  it  is  this  very 
indifference  which  has  given  point  to  the  complaint 
that  "the  unrepresented  do  not  get  justice  at  the 
hands  of  legislators."  There  is  an  inseparable  con 
nection  between  political  power  and  the  redress  of 
social  grievances. 

At  present,  while  women  are  excluded  from  the 
privileges  of  taxation,  they  bear  all  its  penalties.  A 


35O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

little  town  in  Somersetshire  was  guilty  of  bribery 
and  corruption  at  an  election  some  ten  years  ago. 
An  investigation  was  ordered,  and  subsequently  a  fine 
of  three  shillings  in  the  pound  was  imposed  on  the 
ratepayers  for  the  malpractices  of  Bridgewater  voters. 
That  fine  was  imposed  on  the  women  ratepayers  as 
well.  These  ladies  naturally  complained  of  this  un 
just  taxation,  inasmuch  as,  not  exercising  the  fran 
chise,  they  had  in  no  way  been  guilty  of  the  mal 
practices  thus  punished.  They  sent  up  a  formal 
petition  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  De 
partment,  but  that  worthy  dignitary  was  forced  to  re 
ply  "  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  exempt  women 
owning  property  from  the  local  and  imperial  taxation 
to  which  property  is  liable." 

Mrs.  Gold,  a  widow  lady,  holding  property  in 
Montgomeryshire,  sixty  years  of  age,  was  appointed 
overseer  by  the  justices  of  the  county.  She  appealed 
to  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench,  on  the  ground  that 
there  were  fifty  men  in  the  parish  better  qualified  for 
the  office,  but  the  application  was  rejected,  and  the 
lady  was  forced  to  serve  against  her  will. 

Owing  to  a  lack  of  fair  Parliamentary  representa 
tion  women  have  suffered  many  injustices ;  the  edu 
cational  endowments  left  for  the  benefit  of  both  sexes 
alike  have  been  appropriated  for  boys.  It  took  years 
to  obtain  a  hearing  with  regard  to  the  property  of 
married  women  and  their  earnings,  and  many  land 
lords  have  ejected  female  tenants  because  they  re 
quired  tenants  who  could  vote.  In  a  conversation  I 
had  with  Horace  Greeley  I  mentioned  the  latter  fact, 
and  although  he  was  then  opposed  to  female  suffrage 
in  America,  he  said  such  a  practical  and  weighty  re- 


RESULT    OF    DISABILITY.  351 

suit  of  political  disability  would  prevent  him  from 
again  saying  that  "  the  franchise  was  not  required  for 
English  women."  A  widow  on  the  Yorkshire  estate 
of  Mr.  Sotheron  Estcourt,  M.P.,was  this  year  evicted 
from  the  holding  of  her  late  husband,  as  "  the  rule  of 
that  estate  is  that  widows  shall  not  remain  tenants." 
As  she  was  not  inclined  to  yield  to  this  arbitrary  law, 
an  attempt  was  even  made  to  confiscate  her  property  ! 
The  exigencies  of  the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States 
alone  procured  women  admission  into  the  Civil  Ser 
vice,  and  "even  then,"  exclaimed  Grace  Greenwood, 
with  a  flash  of  indignation  in  her  keen  bright  eye, 
"  they  were  constantly  reminded  that  they  were  kept 
there  on  sufferance.  We  women  gave  brothers,  hus 
bands,  sons  to  the  war  by  sufferance.  We  toiled  in 
sanitary  bazaars,  made  shirts,  knitted  stockings,  picked 
lint,  rolled  bandages,  carried  fruit,  and  nursed  wounded 
soldiers  by  sufferance ;  we  pay  taxes  by  sufferance ; 
perhaps,  on  the  whole,  we  live  by  sufferance !  " 

To  remove  the  disabilities  English  women  share 
with  criminals,  idiots,  lunatics,  and  minors,  will  inev 
itably,  say  the  opponents  of  suffrage,  u  destroy  their 
womanliness  and  love  of  domesticity."  A  very  re 
markable  proof  to  the  contrary  is  afforded  by  the 
public  and  private  life  of  Queen  Victoria.  It  is  al 
lowed  by  all  that  few  women  have  such  a  profound  in 
sight  into  politics,  or  have  led  such  a  laborious  life  in 
connection  with  public  business.  Every  important 
question  has  to  be  brought  before  Her  Majesty,  and 
she  has  watched  over  the  Poor  Law  administration 
with  the  greatest  care  and  womanly  zeal.  Even  the 
Saturday  Review  freely  acknowledges  that  her  apti 
tude  and  immense  experience  have  been  of  the  greatest 
benefit  to  the  nation. 


352  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"The  Queen  now  knows  probably  more  of  the 
proper  course  of  public  business,  and  is  more 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  history  and  tradi 
tions  of  every  department  than  any  other  person  in 
England,"  says  this  authority.  It  is  equally  safe  to 
affirm  that  no  woman  of  modern  times  has  shown  her 
self  more  thoroughly  "  womanly  and  domestic."  A 
truer  wife  or  more  devoted  mother  could  not  be  cited. 
She  has  labored  conscientiously  to  discharge  her  pub 
lic  duties,  although  since  her  widowhood  she  has 
shrunk  from  the  Court  balls  and  social  entertainments 
which  she  thinks  can  be  reasonably  left  to  other 
members  of  her  family.  But  she  has  never  failed  tq 
manifest  the  tenderest  sympathy  for  her  subjects. 
Even  in  the  earliest  hours  of  her  own  bereavement, 
Queen  Victoria's  womanly  heart  betrayed  her  deep 
interest  for  the  fate  of  the  men  buried  in  the  Newcas 
tle  colliery,  and  realized  the  agony  of  the  wives  and 
children  who  were  waiting  with  breathless  anxiety  at 
the  pit's  mouth  to  hear  the  fate  of  their  nearest  and 
dearest.  Nor  did  she  fail  to  listen  to  and  relieve  the 
privations  of  the  Lancashire  operatives.  Politics  have 
not  deadened  one  chord  of  that  womanly  nature ; 
they  have  neither  chilled  the  depths  of  her  love,  nor 
diminished  the  reality  of  her  grief.  Our  widowed 
sovereign  has  proved  that  womanhood  is  even  greater 
than  queendom. 

The  world  has  indeed  moved  since  the  time  when 
Voltaire  said,  that  "  ideas  are  like  beards,  women  and 
young  men  have  none,"  and  Lessing  remarked,  that, 
"  the  woman  who  thinks,  is  like  the  man  who  puts  on 
rouge — ridiculous."  When  the  franchise  for  women 
was  first  advocated  in  England  it  was  pronounced  "  a 


WOMAN  S    SUFFRAGE.  353 

fad,  too  visionary  for  serious  consideration,"  and 
others  stigmatized  it  as  a  "  female  fancy  for  forbidden 
fruit."  To-day  it  ranks  as  a  great  Parliamentary 
question. 

It  is  true  that  Mr.  Woodall's  amendment  to  the 
Franchise  Bill,  which  has  caused  the  recent  contest 
between  the  House  of  Lords  and  the  Commons,  was 
excluded  by  a  majority  of  136  votes,  but  it  may  now 
be  truly  said,  the  building  is  erected,  the  coping-stone 
adjusted,  and  the  song  of  victory  will,  before  long,  be 
sung.  The  most  distinguished  ladies  in  art,  science, 
and  literature, — women  remarkable  for  good  works 
and  common  sense,  are  actively  engaged  in  the  move 
ment  ;  petitions  have  been  signed  by  hundreds  of 
clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England,  members  of  the 
School  Boards,  mistresses  of  schools,  and  students  at 
our  Universities ;  the  Conservative  party  has  ex 
pressed  its  willingness  to  adopt  what  must  be  termed 
"  a  liberal  movement,"  and  under  the  wise  and  able 
guidance  of  Mr.  Woodall,  the  question  will  again 
shortly  come  before  Parliament  to  be  discussed  on 
its  own  merits. 

It  was  not  found  good  for  man  to  live  alone  in  the 
garden  of  Eden,  and  it  is  not  good  for  him  to  work 
alone  in  anything  which  relates  to  the  social  progress 
of  the  world.  While  politics  may  be  looked  at  on  one 
side  from  a  hard  and  even  a  low  point  of  sight,  it  must 
never  be  forgotten  that  they  also  include  all  those 
subjects  of  deep  intellectual  pleasure,  and  that  partic 
ipation  in  social  reforms,  which  alone  make  life  worth 
living,  and  from  which  women  can  no  longer  be  ex 
cluded  with  impunity.  Every  effort  for  the  good  of 
the  general  commonwealth  requires  the  joint  co-oper- 


354  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ation  of  men  and  women.  In  the  terrible  calamity 
at  Cincinnati,  I  watched  brave  hearts  and  stout  arms 
rescuing  many  from  watery  graves ;  wealthy  men 
came  forward  with  generous  supplies  of  money  in  that 
hour  of  need,  but  equally  necessary  was  the  noble,  un 
selfish  devotion  of  the  women,  who  were  untiring  in 
their  efforts  to  feed  the  hungry,  relieve  the  sick,  and 
provide  the  requisite  clothing  for  the  victims  of  that 
unprecedented  flood.  We  require  the  help  of  women 
in  our  prisons,  reformatories,  and  schools,  and  those 
who  urge  that  their  practical  work  is  needed  in  every 
movement  which  concerns  the  welfare  of  the  human 
family,  have  alone  realized  what  the  poet  meant  when, 
in  speaking  of  his  ideal  knight,  he  exclaimed : 

"  Could  he  but  find 

A  woman  in  her  womanhood  as  great 
As  he  was  in  his  manhood,  then 
The  twain  together  well  might  move  the  world  ! " 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Anthony  Trollope  on  English,  American,  and  Australian  news 
papers — Special  features  of  American  journalism — Its  won 
derful  enterprise — The  interviewer — Mrs.  Langtry — Herbert 
Spencer — Ladies  employed  on  the  press — Impersonal  versus 
personal  journalism — Mr.  Pulitzer's  views  in  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette — English  and  American  practices  contrasted — Anglo 
phobia  and  Anglo-mania  —  The  future  prospect — Thurlow 
Weed — Albany — Mrs.  Barnes. 

WHEN  Anthony  Trollope  returned  from  his  voy 
age  round  the  world,  he  said  that  he  had  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  no  one  but  an  Englishman  could 
turn  out  a  respectable  newspaper.  Continental  papers 
were  thoroughly  unsatisfactory ;  there  were  a  few 
decent  newspapers  in  Australia,  but  they  were  all 
conducted  by  Englishmen.  "  The  American,"  he 
said,  u  can  give  a  good  lecture,  make  a  good  speech, 
build  a  good  house,  tell  a  good  story,  and  write  a 
good  book ;  he  can,  in  short,  do  anything  on  earth 
requiring  intellect,  energy,  industry,  and  construction, 
with  this  one  exception.  He  can  not — at  any  rate  he 
has  not  as  yet — turned  out  a  good  newspaper." 

While  it  may  be  true  that  the  rough-and-ready 
bundle  of  news  is  chiefly  in  demand  in  the  United 
States,  I  can  not  subscribe  to  Mr.  Trollope's  sweep 
ing  assertion,  nor  do  I  believe  he  would  have  uttered 
it  in  the  year  of  grace  1884.  Some  of  the  daily  news 
papers  now  published  in  the  chief  cities  of  America 
will  be  freely  acknowledged  by  the  unprejudiced 

(355) 


356  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

critic  as  worthy  peers  of  their  foreign  rivals.  In  some 
particulars,  it  must  be  allowed  that  they  excel  them. 
The  American  press  has  undoubtedly  vindicated  its 
claim  to  be  the  best  in  the  world  in  the  direction  of 
enterprise.  The  first  permanent  paper,  the  Boston 
News  Letter,  boasted  that  it  presented  its  readers 
"  with  European  news  eight  months  after  date."  At 
that  time,  the  idea  of  any  one  but  Shakespeare's 
Puck  putting  "  a  girdle  around  about  the  earth  in 
forty  minutes  "  had  not  been  dreamt  of.  To-day, 
news  spreads  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  The  fire 
which  takes  place  in  London  during  the  evening,  the 
criticism  on  the  first  performance  of  a  new  play,  the 
result  of  the  latest  division  in  the  Houses  of  Parlia 
ment,  together  with  all  the  intellectual,  scientific, 
philanthropic,  and  social  movements  throughout  the 
whole  world,  are  flashed  across  the  ocean  during  the 
night  and  placed  with  unvarying  punctuality  on  your 
breakfast-table  in  America,  at  eight  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  together  with  the  editorials,  which  solve  all 
the  diplomatic  perplexities  that  torment  and  baffle 
foreign  powers  and  parliaments.  The  newspaper 
penetrates  everywhere,  consequently  the  people  are 
interested  in  all  new  discoveries,  and  are  capable  of 
selecting  and  utilizing  them  ;  even  those  who  live  on 
the  prairies  are  not  intellectually  isolated,  or  shut  out 
from  the  great  currents  of  public  and  social  life. 

The  enterprise  which  has  always  distinguished  the 
American  Press  has  culminated  in  Mr.  Bennett's 
spirited  effort  on  behalf  of  the  New  York  Herald. 
As  I  write  these  lines  arrangements  are  being  made 
for  the  opening  of  the  Bennett-Mackay  Cable,  by 
which  press  messages  will  be  transmitted  between 


THE  AMERICAN  NEWSPAPER.        357 

London  and  New  York  at  the  rate  of  threepence  a 
word. 

I  am  far  from  thinking  that  the  American  news* 
paper  is  absolutely  perfect ;  but  when  the  complaint 
is  made  about  the  "  low  tone  of  the  press,"  it  is  well 
to  remember  that  not  only  is  the  editor  a  man  of 
"like  passions"  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  a  prey  to 
the  same  weaknesses,  and  liable  to  the  same  tempta 
tions,  but  also,  that  while  the  newspaper  records  the 
corruptions  and  crimes  of  the  passing  moment,  it 
does  not  make  them.  It  is  but  the  mirror  which  re 
flects  that  which  is  before  it.  An  immaculate  press 
is  no  more  to  be  expected  than  an  immaculate  clergy 
or  House  of  Representatives.  To  raise  the  standard 
above  human  pitch  is  to  court  disappointment.  "  If 
the  Lord  is  to  have  a  church  in  this  town,"  said  a 
practical  New  England  deacon,  "  I  guess  He's  got  to 
make  it  out  of  the  material  He  finds  here." 

It  is  true  that  the  American  newspaper  very  often 
startles  its  more  cultured  readers  with  extraordinary 
sensational  headings  and  the  prominence  it  gives  to 
horrors  of  all  kinds — murders,  elopements,  divorces, 
and  wickedness  in  general.  But  the  public  taste  still 
craves  for  these  excitements,  and  as  a  newspaper  is  a 
business  undertaking,  it  is  subject  to  the  same  laws 
which  influence  other  commercial  speculations ;  it 
can  not  unfortunately  afford  to  ignore  the  fountain 
springs  of  its  existence. 

A  new  experience  is  afforded  to  the  English  travel 
ler  by  the  unrivalled  audacity  of  journalistic  "  inter 
viewing."  Professor  Nichol,  of  Glasgow,  aptly  de 
scribes  this  process  as  "  a  transatlantic  invention,  for 
intruding  on  a  great  man's  time  and  then  misrepre- 


35$  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

senting  him."  It  seemed  to  me  that  people,  great 
and  small,  were  eagerly  seized  upon.  The  moment 
the  steamer  arrives  at  Sandy  Hock,  the  interviewer 
is  on  board  seeking  for  his  prey,  and  he  never  aban. 
dons  the  pursuit  till  the  hour  the  homeward-bound 
vessel  leaves  the  docks.  He  lays  in  wait  for  his  vic 
tims  in  the  corridors  of  their  hotels,  he  corners  them 
in  the  railroad  cars  at  the  various  depots  en  route,  and 
compels  them  on  all  possible  occasions  to  deliver  up 
their  inmost  thoughts  upon  every  conceivable  subject 
and  person.  I  was  once  awakened  from  peaceful 
slumbers  shortly  before  midnight  to  express  my 
opinion  upon  the  cable  that  had  just  arrived  from 
England  about  the  admission  of  women  to  the  Uni 
versity  of  Oxford  !  As  I  passed  through  the  city  of 
Kansas,  where  the  train  stopped  for  ten  minutes,  I 
was  required  to  give  my  views  on  Prohibition !  On 
another  occasion  I  was  asked  a  question  about  a  mat 
ter  respecting  which  I  did  not  care  to  be  interro 
gated,  so  I  informed  my  enterprising  catechiser  that 
I  had  "no  opinion  on  the  subject  whatever."  He 
demurred  to  this  evasion,  but  finding  it  impossible  to 
extract  one,  he  quietly  remarked,  "  Well,  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  make  one  for  you."  The  interviewer  is 
simply  ubiquitous  !  There  is  no  escape  from  him. 
He  has  undertaken  to  furnish  curious  readers  with 
the  most  minute  details  of  your  birth,  parentage,  and 
education,  personal  appearance,  dress,  manner,  and 
surroundings ;  your  public  work  and  your  private 
sentiments  must  also  be  investigated  ;  no  feeling  of 
delicacy  is  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way,  no  fear  of  re 
morse  restrains  him  ;  like  Mr.  Gilbert's  heroic  Cap 
tain  Reece,  he  sustains  himself  under  all  difficulties 


THE    INTERVIEWER.  359 

by  the  comforting  conviction,  "it  is  my  duty,  and  I 
will."  Accordingly  he  forces  himself  into  private 
houses,  and  reports  on  all  he  sees,  and  much  he  does 
not  see,  with  offensive  familiarity;  he  criticises  the 
costumes  and  conversation  of  the  guests ;  he  dis 
cusses  with  equal  freedom  the  cost  of  the  ladies'  gar 
ments  and  the  hospitality  of  the  host ;  he  chronicles 
the  names  of  those  present,  and  sometimes  suggests 
those  of  people  "  who  would  like  to  have  been 
asked,"  and  parades  the  actual  sum  of  money  paid 
for  the  supper  and  champagne.  The  newspaper  re 
ports  of  some  American  entertainments  would  lead 
the  reader  to  suppose  that  their  success  depended  en 
tirely  on  the  amount  of  silver  plate  displayed  and  the 
thousands  of  dollars  spent  on  the  decorations  and 
flowers.*  It  is  true  that  the  presence  of  "  Jenkins  " 
is  felt  at  home,  but  one  is  scarcely  prepared  to  find 
him  flourishing,  notwithstanding  the  stern  demo 
cratic  principles  professed,  in  the  great  Republic. 

To  the  interviewer  nothing  is  sacred.  The  mys 
teries  of  love  and  grief  must  be  laid  bare  at  his  bid 
ding.  He  not  only  intrudes  at  the  hour  of  death, 
but  he  must  unravel  all  the  secrets  of  every  love 
affair.  What  is  not  extracted  from  his  victim's  lips, 
a  vivid  imagination  supplies.  If  a  marriage  is  broken 
off,  he  must  discover  "the  reason  why,"  and,  regard 
less  of  the  feelings  of  those  most  immediately  con 
cerned,  publishes  in  the  newspaper  the  next  morning 

*  In  an  editorial  article  in  a  New  York  paper  complaining  of 
"  the  snobbish  reports  of  private  parties,"  it  was  sarcastically 
suggested  that  "  guests  should  be  entertained  at  once  by  the 
production  of  the  bank-book,  bonds,  stocks,  and  mortgages,  as 
the  shortest  cut  to  a  realization  of  their  host's  riches." 


360  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

full  details  of  the  unpleasant  family  complication, 
with  a  comical  heading  in  large  capitals.  No  wonder 
that  a  cultured  American,  like  T.  G.  Rider,  deplores 
the  fact  "that  scandals,  trifles,  trivialities,  and  tattle, 
like  a  plague  of  locusts  and  grasshoppers,  swarm 
through  the  columns  of  our  leading  daily  papers." 
Certainly  no  one  who  was  travelling  in  America 
in  1883,  during  Mrs.  Langtry's  first  tour,  could  fail 
to  be  struck  with  the  license  of  some  of  the  news 
papers  at  that  time.  To  criticise  her  as  an  actress 
was  a  manifest  duty;  but  to  haunt  her  footsteps,  to 
report  at  full  length  her  domestic  concerns  and  pri 
vate  quarrels,  and  to  publish  every  item  of  scandal 
which  could  be  collected  from  the  attendants  in  the 
hotels  at  which  she  stayed,  car-conductors  of  the 
trains  she  travelled  in,  and  the  dressers  at  the  thea 
tres  in  which  she  played,  was  a  gross  concession  to 
the  taste  of  a  prurient  class  of  readers.  In  one  city, 
the  chief  daily  paper  circulated  throughout  the  thea 
tres,  during  her  first  performance,  cards  with  pencils 
attached,  on  which  were  printed  five  questions,  en 
titled,  "  The  Langtry  Catechism,"  for  the  audience  to 
answer  during  the  evening.  Signatures  were  to  be 
optional.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  at  least  a  hun 
dred  of  these  cards  were  filled  up — some  of  them 
were  even  signed  ;  and  those  that  were  not  suppressed 
by  the  editor  as  "  too  funny,"  appeared  the  next 
morning  in  the  paper,  which  devoted  six  columns  to 
the  subject,  under  the  title  of  "  How  the  Lily  Look 
ed."  The  imaginative  faculty  of  the  American  jour 
nalist  was  also  demonstrated  by  the  circulation  of  a 
circumstantial  account  of  General  Butler's  proposal 
and  engagement  to  the  leading  lady  of  Mrs.  Langtry's 


HERBERT    SPENCER.  361 

theatrical  company.  The  newspapers  throughout 
the  country  acknowledged  the  information  received 
by  wire,  and  commented  upon  the  ability  of  the 
bride-elect  "to  do  the  honors  of  the  Governor's  man 
sion  in  Massachusetts."  These  very  graphic  and  ro 
mantic  scribes  appeared  quite  regardless  of  the  tri 
fling  circumstance  that  up  to  that  very  hour  General 
Butler  had  never  spoken  to,  or  even  seen,  the  young 
lady. 

Last  New-Year's  Day,  a  Chicago  paper  published 
a  list  of  all  the  eligible  bachelors  in  that  city,  for 
the  benefit  of  ladies  contemplating  matrimony,  with 
full  details  as  to  -their  incomes,  preferences,  and  at 
tractions.  A  New  York  journal  gave  the  history 
of  "  Our  millionaire  ladies ";  and  another  described 
"  The  rich  men  of  America — how  their  vast  fortunes 
were  made,  and  how  they  benefit  their  owners."  The 
details  which  were  given  may  be  gathered  from  the 
following  sub-heading  to  the  article : 

"  Millionaires  who  are  Stingy  and  Millionaires  who  are  Benevo 
lent — Some  Make  a  Great  Show  in  the  World  and  Some  are 
Humble — A  Few  Politicians  and  Many  who  are  Pious — 
Nearly  Every  One  has  a  Hobby — A  Remarkable  Collection 
of  Timely,  Interesting,  and  Instructive  Information." 

Herbert  Spencer,  who  resolutely  avoided,  on  his 
first  arrival  in  America,  an  inquisition  which  he 
described  as  "  an  invasion  of  his  personal  liberty," 
had  at  last  to  submit  himself  to  the  cross-examination 
of  his  friend,  Professor  Youmans,  to  save  him  from 
having  "  things  invented  to  gratify  this  appetite  for 
personalities."  In  this  interview  he  complained  that 
"  Americans  do  not  sufficiently  respect  the  individu 
ality  of  others."  Mr.  Spencer  observed  : 
16 


362  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

"  The  trait  I  refer  to  comes  out  in  various  ways.  It  is  shown 
by  the  disrespectful  manner  in  which  individuals  are  dealt  with 
in  your  journals — the  placarding  of  public  men  in  sensational 
headings,  the  dragging  of  private  people  and  their  affairs  into 
print.  There  seems  to  be  a  notion  that  the  public  have  a  right 
to  intrude  on  private  life  as  far  as  they  like ;  and  this  I  take  to 
be  a  kind  of  moral  trespassing.  It  is  true  that  during  the  last 
few  years  we  have  been  discredited  in  London  by  certain  weekly 
papers  which  do  the  like  (except  in  the  typographical  display)  ; 
but  in  our  daily  press,  metropolitan  and  provincial,  there  is  noth 
ing  of  the  kind.  Then,  in  a  larger  way,  the  trait  is'seen  in  this 
damaging  of  private  property  by  your  elevated  railways  without 
making  compensation  ;  and  it  is  again  seen  in  the  doings  of  rail 
way  governments,  not  only  when  overriding  the  rights  of  share 
holders,  but  in  dominating  over  courts  of  justice  and  State  gov 
ernments.  The  fact  is,  that  free  institutions  can  be  properly 
worked  only  by  men  each  of  whom  is  jealous  of  his  own  rights 
arid  also  sympathetically  jealous  of  the  rights  of  others — will 
neither  himself  aggress  on  his  neighbors,  in  small  things  or 
great,  nor  tolerate  aggression  on  them  by  others.  The  republi 
can  form  of  government  is  the  highest  form  of  government ;  but 
because  of  this  it  requires  the  highest  type  of  human  nature — a 
type  nowhere  at  present  existing.  We  have  not  grown  up  to  it, 
nor  have  you." 

Cultured  Americans  entertain  as  great  a  dread  and 
horror  of  this  system  of  "  interviewing  "  as  that  ex 
perienced  by  any  stranger  and  foreigner  who  visits 
their  shores.  They  are  equally  sensitive  about  this 
intrusion  on  their  private  concerns  and  hospitalities, 
and  do  their  utmost  to  avoid  the  publicity  they  are 
made  apparently  to  seek.  The  best  journals  also  now 
weed  out  the  offensive  personal  gossip  of  the  volun 
teer  contributor.  But  it  is  a  somewhat  curious  fact 
that  while  ladies  have  thus  been  paragraphed,  a  strict 
line  has  been  drawn  respecting  the  publication  and 
sale  of  the  photographs  of  ladies  celebrated  for  their 


TACT    AND    CONSIDERATION.  363 

beauty  or  prominence  in  New  York  society.  A  pho 
tographer  recently  announced  that  he  was  about  to 
begin  a  series  with  a  likeness  of  Lady  Mandeville,  and 
it  was  received  with  general  indignation.  One  paper 
observed  : 

"  Whatever  may  be  the  custom  among  the  English  nobility, 
who  in  these  days  are  a  class  seemingly  privileged  to  outrage 
propriety  and  set  modesty  and  decorum  at  defiance,  the  daugh 
ters  of  America  would  hardly  care  to  advertise  their  charms  and 
parade  their  likenesses  in  shop  windows,  side  by  side  with  act 
resses,  criminals,  and  notoriously  objectionable  characters.  The 
day  has  gone  by  when  any  special  interest  attaches  to  a  « pro 
fessional  beauty  '  even  in  the  country  where  the  offensive  term 
originated  ;  and  in  our  free  and  breezy  atmosphere,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  women  can  be  beautiful,  charming,  and  attractive,  with 
out  being  objects  for  public  comment  and  inspection." 

Latterly  there  has  sprung  up  a  class  of  interviewers 
who,  while  they  endeavor  to  satisfy  the  demand  for 
this  kind  of  information,  do  not  forget  the  considera 
tion  due  elsewhere.  For  my  own  part,  I  should  be 
wanting  in  common  gratitude  and  honesty,  if  I  did 
not  acknowledge  the  kind  courtesy  shown  me,  with 
but  rare  exceptions,  throughout  my  dealings  with  the 
writers,  who  sometimes  inspire  their  fellow-creatures 
with  such  terror,  and  inflict  on  them  so  much  unneces 
sary  agony  of  mind  !  In  many  cases  I  fell  into  the  hands 
of  ladies,  who  are  widely  employed  in  this  work,  and  I 
was  often  astonished  at  the  infinite  tact  and  kindness 
shown  by  their  admirable  reports  of  hurried  conver 
sations  and  my  crude  impressions  of  the  city  I  had 
just  reached.  I  may  have  my  views  about  the  sys 
tem,  but  there  are  not  two  opinions  about  the  con 
sideration  I  received  at  the  hands  of  American  inter 
viewers  of  both  sexes. 


364  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

The  employment  of  women  is  a  marked  feature  of 
American  journalism.  Margaret  Fuller  Ossoli's  good 
work  on  the  New  York  Tribune  thirty  years  ago  not 
only  vindicated  her  chief's  appointment,  but  cleared 
the  ground  for  the  rest  of  the  sisterhood.  Conse 
quently  there  is  hardly  a  newspaper  staff  in  the 
United  States  to-day  which  does  not  include  one  or 
more  of  the  many  ladies  who  earn  their  living  by 
brains  and  pen.  In  some  instances  they  are  capital 
ists,  a  few  sit  in  the  editorial  chair  itself,  and  numbers 
are  employed  as  critics  and  bona  fide  reporters  of  pub 
lic  meetings,  prize  shows,  horse  and  yacht  races,  and 
even  cattle  markets.  I  had  a  very  interesting  inter 
view  with  Miss  Middy  Morgan,  who  furnished  the 
cattle  reports  for  the  New  York  Times.  She  learned 
all  about  cattle,  she  told  me,  from  her  father  in  Ire 
land,  and  was  for  three  years  attached  to  Victor 
Emanuel's  household,  purchasing  for  him  all  the 
animals  and  birds  he  required.  After  this  she  came 
to  America,  and  attended  the  cattle  sales  and  reported 
thereon  for  the  New  York  Times.  This  eccentric 
person  is  often  to  be  seen  walking  down  Broadway 
at  full  speed,  with  a  bundle  of  papers  under  her  arm, 
on  her  way  to  inspect  the  cattle  markets. 

I  am  proud  to  think  how  many  cultured,  conscien 
tious  female  American  writers  I  can  now  count  among 
my  personal  friends.  Of  Mrs.  Louise  Chandler  Moul- 
ton,  Mrs.  Croly,  Grace  Greenwood,  Miss  Booth,  Kate 
Field,  and  Mrs.  Bullard  I  have  spoken  elsewhere. 
Miss  Hutchison,  whose  poems  are  full  of  fresh  fancies 
and  quaint  conceits,  possesses  such  sound  judgment 
and  business  talent,  that  she  has  won  an  enviable 
position  on  the  New  York  Tribune.  Miss  Lillian 


IMPERSONAL  JOURNALISM.         365 

Whiting's  piquant,  magnetic  letters  are  not  only  known 
to  the  readers  of  the  Boston  Traveller,  but  her  signa 
ture  is  familiar  to  those  who  see  the  papers  published 
in  New  Orleans,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  and  Washing 
ton.  It  would  indeed  be  difficult  to  give  a  list  of  the 
prominent  women  journalists  across  the  ocean.  Gail 
Hamilton,  Mrs.  Runkle,  Mary  Mapes  Dodge,  Miss 
Snead,  Miss  Gilder,  Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps,  Mrs. 
Hodgson  Burnett,  Mary  Clemmer  Ames,  Kate  Hil- 
lard,  Mrs.  Longstreet,  Virginia  Townsend,  Mrs.  Chese- 
bro,  Kate  Sanborn,  Miss  Nimmo,  Mrs.  Merighi,  Miss 
Humphreys,  Mrs.  Knight,  Mrs.  Merton,  Miss  For 
ney,  Mrs.  Ermini  Smith,  Miss  Welch,  and  many  others 
rise  up  before  me  as  gifted  journalists  with  whom  I 
was  brought  into  contact  during  my  three  tours 
through  their  country,  as  well  as  numberless  mascu 
line  editors  of  the  chief  papers  in  each  city  visited, 
and  from  whom  I  received  much  kindness.  I  still 
look  forward  eagerly  to  every  mail  which  brings  my 
interesting  budget  of  American  papers.  Women  arc 
very  generally  employed  in  the  commercial  depart 
ment  of  newspaper  offices.  All  the  advertisement 
clerks  in  the  Scotsman  office  in  Edinburgh  are  women. 
A  very  animated  discussion  is  sure  to  follow  any 
question  raised  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  as  to 
impersonal  versus  personal  journalism.  "  You  have  im 
personal  journalism  in  London,  because  the  English 
press  is  conducted  by  scholarly  dummies,"  said  a  noted 
American  editor,  who  was  discussing  the  subject  with 
me  one  day  on  the  deck  of  a  steamer.  He  contended 
that  impersonal  journalism  meant  a  newspaper  made 
by  a  set  of  nobodies,  with  no  informing  intelligence, 
no  definite  plan,  under  no  single  guiding,  inspiring 


366  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

brain.  "  There  is  not  money  enough  in  America  to 
hire  the  people  to  read  papers  made  in  that  wooden- 
headed,  mechanical  way,"  he  added,  vehemently ;  "  we 
must  have  an  abundance  of  personal  journalism  ;  it  is 
an  appendage  to  a  condition  as  well  as  a  result  of 
character.  None  of  our  best  men  could,  if  they  even 
wished  it,  envelop  themselves  in  the  mystery  which 
surrounds  the  work-a-day  drudge  who  forges  thunder 
bolts  for  the  London  Times.  The  elements  of  all 
modern  life  culminate  in  strong  magnetic  person 
alities."  So  completely  does  an  English  editor  con 
ceal  his  identity,  that  I  really  think,  outside  a  certain 
set,  the  names  of  leading  American  journalists  are 
better  known  in  England  than  those  of  the  men  in 
whose  hands  are  placed  the  destinies  of  our  London 
and  provincial  daily  papers.  Many  persons  who  could 
not  tell  you  who  edits  the  Times  are  familiar  with  the 
names  of  James  Gordon  Bennett,  Dana,  Whitelaw 
Reid,  Murat  Halstead,  Henry  Watterson,  Mr.  Childs, 
Horace  White,  Mr.  Hurlbert,  Manton  Marble,  Joseph 
Mcdill,  H.  T.  Raymond,  Theodore  Tilton,  and  other 
leading  lights  of  American  journalism. 

Mr.  Pulitzer,  editor  of  the  New  York  Morning 
Journal,  during  his  recent  visit  here,  gave  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette**  his  views  respecting  the  secret  of  success  in 
journalism.  He  placed  great  stress  on  conservatism 
in  all  social  questions,  and  the  value  of  humor.  He 
remarked  that  he  had  hit  upon  "woman  as  the  great 
unexplored  mine  "  to  work  on. 


*  This  paper,  which  has  been  described  as  "  the  pioneer  of 
journalistic  emancipation,"  has  recently  introduced  into  England 
the  system  of  "  interviewing  "  with  great  success. 


ANGLO-PHOBIA.  367 

"  The  average  woman,  as  a  rule,  does  not  take  much  interest 
in  the  average  newspaper.  She  does  not  care  about  politics,  nor 
is  she  sufficiently  interested  in  the  discussion  of  economical  prob 
lems  to  desist  from  her  daily  struggle  after  the  solution  of  her 
own  economical  problems  of  her  own  household  to  read  the  dry 
and  heavy  leading  articles  in  the  morning  dailies  ;  but  short, 
crisp  paragraphs  treating  on  social  subjects,  bright  gossip  about 
the  events  of  the  day,  piquant,  personal,  and  yet  pleasant  details 
about  people  in  whom  every  one  is  interested — these  appeal  to 
the  woman's  heart,  and  the  result  is  that  if  a  woman  ever  sees 
the  Morning  Journal  she  will  have  it  ever  alter." 

This  was  undoubtedly  the  new  departure  which 
brought  such  quick  success  to  our  London  society 
journals,  but  it  always  seemed  to  me  a  feature  of  the 
"  average  American  newspaper";  and  while  they  have 
no  paper  like  our  Punch — for  Puck  and  The  Judge  by 
no  means  take  a  similar  standing — columns  devoted 
to  "Fun  and  Folly,"  "Sparks,"  "Nuts  to  Crack," 
"  Pious  Smiles,"  "  Nonsense,"  and  "  Humors  of  the 
day,"  appear  in  every  daily  paper.  The  American 
laughs  at  the  English  practice  of  taking  humor,  re 
ligion,  politics,  and  philosophy  in  separate  doses.  He 
declares  that  "  no  joke  appears  in  the  London  Times, 
save  by  accident."  In  the  States  you  find  it  every 
where — in  the.  newspapers  as  well  as  in  the  pulpit.  I 
have  seen  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher's  congrega 
tion  convulsed  with  laughter  at  a  comic  story,  told 
during  the  Sunday  morning  service,  with  all  that 
preacher's  well-known  humor  and  dramatic  action. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  few  American  writers 
still  seem  to  suffer  from  what  can  only  be  described  as 
"  A.ng\o-pkobia"  They  dispense  strict  justice  and 
entertain  the  kindest  feeling  toward  the  Englishman 
as  an  individual,  but  the  English  nation,  as  a  collect- 


368  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ive  body,  excites  them,  as  the  traditional  bull  is  said 
to  be  affected  by  the  sight  of  a  red  rag.  This  accounts 
for  the  impression  which  gets  abroad  that  "  a  senti 
ment  of  hatred  toward  England  is  fostered  in  Amer 
ica,"  whereas  the  English  traveller  finds  a  cordial 
welcome  everywhere,  and  invariably  hears  the  kindest 
expressions  of  personal  feeling  toward  his  country 
men  at  home.  If  A.r\g\o-phobia'is  sometimes  discovered 
in  American  newspapers,  it  is  much  more  common  to 
encounter  Anglo-;;z#;zz<2  in  society.  As  Mr.  Lowell 
tells  his  countrymen : 

"  Though  you  brag  of  the  New  World, 
You  don't  half  believe  in  it, 

And  as  much  of  the  Old  as  is  possible, 
Weave  in  it." 

Mr.  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  and  other  patriotic  Amer 
icans,  who  naturally  despise  a  slavish  imitation  of 
foreign  dress  and  manners,  have  administered  some 
very  severe  rebukes  thereon.  Mr.  Lodge  traces  it  to 
the  vestiges  of  the  colonial  spirit  surviving  "  the  bitter 
struggle  for  independence,"  and  still  met  with  among 
groups  of  the  rich  and  idle  people  in  great  cities.  He 
says : 

"  They  are  for  the  most  part  young  men  ;  they  despise  every 
thing  American,  and  admire  everything  English.  They  talk  and 
dress  and  walk  and  ride  in  certain  ways,  because  the  English  do 
these  things  in  those  ways.  They  hold  their  own  country  in  con 
tempt,  and  lament  the  hard  fate  of  their  birth.  They  try  to 
think  that  they  form  an  aristocracy,  and  become  at  once  ludicrous 
and  despicable.  The  virtues  which  have  made  the  upper  classes 
in  England  what  they  are,  and  which  take  them  into  public  affairs, 
into  literature  and  politics,  are  forgotten.  Anglo-Americans  im 
itate  the  vices  or  the  follies  of  their  models,  and  stop  there.  If 


ANGLO-MANIA.  369 

all  this  were  merely  a  passing  fashion,  an  attack  of  Anglo-mania 
or  of  Gallo  mania,  of  which  there  have  been  instances  enough 
everywhere,  it  would  be  of  no  consequence.  But  it  is  a  recur 
rence  of  the  old  and  deep-seated  malady  of  colonialism.  It  is  a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  old  colonial  family.  The  features  are 
somewhat  dim  now,  and  the  vitality  is  low,  but  there  is  no  mis 
taking  the  hereditary  qualities.  The  people  who  thus  despise 
their  own  land,  and  ape  English  manners,  flatter  themselves  with 
being  cosmopolitans,  when  in  truth  they  are  genuine  colonists, 
petty  and  provincial  to  the  last  degree." 

I  was  very  much  amused  by  reading  the  following 
advice  to  the  victim  of  Anglo-mania  : 

"  An  American  who  wishes  to  pass  for  an  Englishman  before 
other  people  than  his  own  countrymen,  must  carefully  observe 
the  following  rules :  He  must  call  his  father  '  the  guv'nor ' ;  he 
should  never  be  sick,  but  '  ill  ' ;  he  should  call  coal  '  coals ' ;  a 
pitcher  a  'jug';  a  sack-coat  a  'jacket';  pantaloons  'trowsers' 
(never  pants)  ;  a  vest  a  '  waistcoat '  (pronounced  ivescuf) ;  an  un 
dershirt  a  'jersey';  suspenders  'braces, 'and  all  shoes 'boots.' 
He  must  speak  of  an  expert  driver  as  a  good  '  whip,'  and  a  good 
rider  as  a  good  '  seat.'  He  must  never  fail  to  mark  the  distinc 
tion  between  riding  and  driving,  and  remember  that  no  one  in 
England  ever  rides  except  on  horseback.  To  therefore  speak  of 
riding  is  quite  sufficient ;  to  add  '  on  horseback '  is  superfluous 
to  an  Englishman.  He  must  nev£r  by  any  possible  chance  forget 
to  call  Thames  'Terns,'  Derby  'Darby,'  Berkeley  'Barkley,'  Ber 
tie  '  Bartie,'  waltz  'valse,'  Holborn  'Hoburn,'  Mary-le-bone 
•Marrabun,'  Pall  Mall  '  Pell  Mell,'  Hertford  '  Hartford,'  St.  John 
(when  used  as  a  person's  name)  'Sinjen,'  and  Woolwich  '  Wool- 
ich.'  He  must  not  put  a  stress  on  the  dies  in  Manchester  or 
Winchester.  He  must  know  all  the  grades  of  nobility  from  a 
duke  down  to  a  baron,  and  never  commit  the  egregious  error  of 
calling  a  baronet  or  a  knight  either  a  nobleman  or  a  lord.  When, 
he  takes  a  bath  he  must  '  have  a  tub.'  He  must  keep  to  the  left 
when  he  drives,  even  though  he  infring-es  the  law  of  the  road  in 
his  own  country,  and  must  rise  in  his  stirrups  when,  in  riding, 
he  trots.  A  railroad  should  always  be  a  '  railway'  in  England, 
1 6* 


37O  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

and  the  Anglo-maniac  must  not  omit  to  call  it  so.  He  must  also 
speak  of  the  cars  as  the  '  train,'  a  baggage  car  as  a  '  luggage 
van,'  a  freight  train  as  a  'goods  train,'  and  must  never  allude  to 
a  station  as  a  depot.  He  must  call  the  track  the  '  line,'  and  the 
rails  the  'metals,'  and  speak  of  switching  as  'shunting,'  of  a 
switch-tender  as  a  '  pointsman,' the  conductor  as  the 'guard,' 
the  ticket  office  as  the  'booking '  office,  and  of  a  horse-car  as  a 
'  tram.'  He  must  never  get  mad,  but  always  '  angry.'  When  he 
goes  to  the  opera  or  theatre  the  orchestra  seats  must  be  desig 
nated  as  the  'stalls,'  the  dress  circle  as  the  '  boxes,' and  the 
parquette  as  the  'pit.'  For  'guess'  he  must  use  'fancy 'and 
'  imagine,'  and  studiously  shrink  from  such  expressions  as  '  quite 
a  while,'  'real  nice,'  'side  whiskers,'  '  is  that  so  ?  '  and  '  why,  cer 
tainly  ! '  He  must  be  sure  to  leave  out  '  wine '  when  he  speaks 
of  port  or  sherry  ;  and  should  he  wish  for  ice-cream  he  must  ask 
for  '  an  ice.'  If  he  is  in  good  health,  he  must  be  '  fit ' ;  if  ill, 
4  seedy.'  If  overtired  '  knocked  up.'  If  a  person  has  good  taste, 
and  is  well-bred,  or  if  a  thing  is  done  in  accordance  with  the 
rules  of  good  breeding  or  good  taste,  both  are  '  good  form,'  ii 
the  reverse,  'bad  form.'  Should  he  find  himself  in  difficulty  he 
must  be  '  up  a  tree,'  and  everything  troublesome  and  disagree 
able  is  'hard  lines.'  He  must  call  lunch  'luncheon,' and  the 
parlor  the  '  drawing-room.'  " 

The  writer  might  have  added  several  other  pro 
nunciations  which  betray  a  speaker's  nationality— 
notably  "  Dook  "  for  Duke,  and  "  doo  "  for  dew,  and 
the  expression  "  so  forth  and  so  on."  There  is  a  vein 
of  satire  running  through  this  exposition  of  English 
versus  American  terms,  and  as  usual  much  may  be 
said  on  both  sides.  There  is,  however,  no  question 
whatever  respecting  the  increased  use  of  "slang"  in 
England.  The  young  lady  of  the  nineteenth  century 
can  be  easily  detected  by  her  description  of  "  an  aw 
fully  fine  day,"  "  an  awfully  good  ride,"  or  "  an 
awfully  pleasant  fellow";  but  the  word  our  Ameri 
can  cousins  most  despise  is  the  term  "  nasty."  Good 


THURLOW    WEED.  371 

society  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  relegates 
"  nasty  "  to  the  Index  Expurgatorius.  To  speak  of 
"  a  clever  girl "  is  to  convey  the  idea  of  a  cunning 
one,  while  "  a  real  cunning  child  "  is  there  a  term  of 
endearment.  Each  country  is  entitled  to  credit  for 
certain  phrases  and  words  of  superior  force  and  mean 
ing,  and  captious  criticism  should  be  avoided  in  the 
interest  of  the  good  feeling  which  ought  to  exist  be 
tween  them. 

It  is  only  natural  to  look  for  great  things  in  the  fu 
ture,  when  one  notes  the  marked  advance  made  dur 
ing  the  last  ten  years  in  journalism.  It  has  already 
attracted  to  its  ranks  some  of  the  best  and  noblest 
minds,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe^that  the 
fearless,  honest,  cultured  writers,  who  are  at  present 
the  leaven  of  the  American  press,  will,  before  long, 
leaven  the  whole  lump,  and  then  the  daily  newspaper 
will  fulfil  Parke  Godwin's  ideal,  as  "  a  sentinel  upon 
the  watch-tower  of  society,"  and  will  not  only  exer 
cise  a  pure  and  ennobling  influence  in  the  United 
States,  but  become  a  power  throughout  the  civilized 
world,  for,  after  all,  "the  Press  is  King"- 

"  Mightiest  of  the  mighty  means 
On  which  the  arm  of  progress  leans." 

The  name  of  Thurlow  Weed,  one  of  the  great  jour 
nalists  and  politicians  of  the  past,  naturally  recurs 
while  speaking  of  the  American  press.  As  soon  as  I 
reached  New  York,  in  October,  1883,  he  kindly  sent 
to  say  he  should  like  to  renew  an  acquaintance  formed 
during  my  previous  visit,  and  would  therefore  see  me, 
though  he  was  very  ill.  Surrounded  by  his  books  in 
his  library,  the  daily  papers  being  still  read  to  him  by 


37 2  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

the  loving  daughter  who  has  always  been  the  presid 
ing  genius  of  his  hospitable  home  in  Twelfth  Street, 
Mr.  Weed  retained  to  the  very  last  his  vivid  interest 
in  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  world  in  which  he  had 
ever  played  so  distinguished  a  part. 

Twenty  yeais  ago  he  was  a  power  in  politics  as 
well  as  journalism  ;  his  conversation  was  always  £ull 
of  points  worthy  of  remembrance,  and  his  gentleness 
won  for  him  a  wide  circle  of  devoted  friends.  As  an 
illustration  of  his  affectionate  nature,  I  can  not  resist 
relating  a  pathetic  incident  of  his  last  illness.  It  was 
found  necessary  to  remove  his  pet  pigeon  from  his 
rooms,  as  the  bird's  attentions  proved  irksome  to  his 
dying  master.  When  he  learned  that  the  pigeon  was 
fretting  at  this  exile,  and  had  refused  its  food,  Mr. 
Weed  had  it  placed  on  his  bed,  and  soothed  it  by 
his  caresses.  Shortly  after  this  Mr.  Weed  completed 
his  eighty-fifth  birthday,  and  a  week  later  he  was  car 
ried  to  his  grave.  Politically,  he  had  outlived  his 
day,  but  he  had  not  outlived  the  public  regard  enter 
tained  for  him.  Few  men  have  been  laid  to  rest  with 
more  genuine  respect  and  affection  than  was  demon 
strated  at  his  unostentatious  funeral.  More  than  a 
year  later,  I  found  myself  at  the  scene  of  Mr.  Weed's 
labors  in  Albany,  the  guest  of  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Barnes,  and  several  members  of  the  family  kindly 
came  from  far  and  near  to  wish  me  "  Godspeed  "  be 
fore  I  returned  to  England. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

The  traveller's  appreciation  of  New  York  after  journeys  to  the 
interior — Religious  denominations — The  growth  of  Episco- 
palianism — Church  music,  and  the  gradual  introduction  of 
boy  choirs — French  cooks — Joaquin  Miller — Peter  Cooper — 
Hotels — Cabs  and  carriage  hire — Tiffany's — Gorham  silver 
factory — Brentano's — The  American  and  Colonial  Exchange 
— Custom-house  officials  and  the  female  searcher — The  dress 
question — The  theatres,  artists,  and  dramatists. 

I  AM  confident  that  no  English  visitor  duly  appre 
ciates  New  York  till  he  has  travelled  throughout 
America.  When  he  first  arrives  from  Europe,  New 
York  strikes  him  as  a  little  new  and  somewhat  in  the 
rough  ;  he  hears  expressions  on  all  sides  of  him  which 
sound  strange,  and  he  notices  fashions  which  certainly 
appear  foreign  and  peculiar.  In  short,  he  feels  that 
he  has  suddenly  plunged  into  a  novel  kind  of  exist 
ence,  and  it  usually  takes  even  the  most  cosmopol 
itan  traveller  a  little  time  to  adapt  himself  to  manners 
and  customs  so  unfamiliar.  But  once  let  him  go  fur 
ther  afield — let  him  spend  even  a  few  weeks  in  travel 
ling  through  the  West  and  South,  either  in  quest  of 
a  balmy  atmosphere,  or  the  natural  beauties  of  moun 
tain  passes  and  river  scenery — and  he  will  certainly 
find,  when  he  re-enters  New  York,  that  a  strange 
sense  of  home  steals  over  him ;  he  will  instantly  rec 
ognize  his  return  to  a  life  in  which  there  is  really 
everything  essential  in  common  with  his  past  Euro- 

(373) 


374  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

pean  experiences ;  he  will,  in  fact,  hail  New  York  as 
a  great  centre  of  civilization  and  luxury. 

Such  thoughts,  at  least,  passed  through  my  mind 
as  the  "cars"  brought  me  into  Jersey  City,  and  I  re 
turned  to  the  charming  house  of  the  New  York  friends 
who  welcomed  me  on  my  first  arrival  in  America. 
Nor  was  the  feeling  diminished  when  I  found  myself, 
later  in  the  day,  comfortably  seated  in  a  handsome 
coupe,  behind  a  pair  of  spirited  horses,  which  took  us 
through  Central  Park  at  a  rattling  pace,  notwithstand 
ing  the  number  of  well-appointed  carriages  which 
thronged  the  favorite  afternoon  drive.  But  for  the 
crisp,  keen  air,  and  bright,  clear  atmosphere,  one  could 
have  imagined  oneself  suddenly  transported  to  the 
familiar  regions  of  Hyde  Park,  and  I  felt  almost 
tempted  to  look  out  for  well-known  London  faces, 
until  that  thoroughly  American  institution,  the  "road 
wagon,"  with  its  splendid  fast  trotter,  dashed  past  us, 
and  recalled  to  me  a  sense  of  the  real  locality,  which 
was  still  more  impressed  upon  me  by  the  sight  of 
those  strange  Park  policemen,  in  their  Confederate 
gray  uniform.  The  fact  that  I  was  still  in  the  Great 
Republic  was  further  demonstrated  as  I  called  on  the 
way  home  on  a  friend  I  was  anxious  to  see  without 
delay,  and  the  "hired  girl"  who  opened  the  door  de 
nied  me  that  satisfaction,  on  the  extraordinary  plea — 
common  enough  here,  but  somewhat  startling  to 
English  ears— that  her  mistress  could  not  receive  me, 
"as  she  was  not  feeling  good  to-day." 

Episcopalianism  has  made  great  progress  of  late 
years  in  America.  There  is  no  State  Church — all  de 
nominations  are  equal  before  the  law ;  but  there  is 
undoubtedly  among  the  rich  a  growing  tendency  to- 


CHURCH    SINGING.  375 

ward  the  Episcopal  communion.  When  I  first  visited 
the  country,  Christmas-Day,  Ash-Wednesday,  and 
Easter  were  regarded  as  relics  of  Popery.  The  old 
Puritan  feeling,  which  the  Mayflower  pilgrims  intro 
duced  into  New  England,  was  naturally  never  in  such 
force  in  the  State  of  New  York,  which  was  peopled 
more  by  continental  cities.  Gradually,  throughout 
the  country,  church  fasts  and  festivals  are  being  rec 
ognized  far  more  than  of  old.  The  very  schools  and 
colleges  break  up  for  "  Holy  Week,"  and  Easter  is  no 
longer  an  unfamiliar  term  to  even  Congregationalists 
and  Baptists. 

Church  singing  has  hitherto  been  regarded  by  all 
American  denominations  as  a  powerful  attraction, 
which  should  always  be  liberally  provided.  I  have 
often  heard  in  Methodist,  Baptist,  and  Congregational 
churches  anthems  which  could  bear  comparison  with 
the  best  cathedral  singing ;  but  in  the  place  of  boys, 
ladies  in  receipt  of  high  salaries  took  the  soprano 
and  alto  parts.  Sometimes  the  organist  is  only  aided 
by  a  quartette  choir.  I  remember  hearing  one  which 
cost  10,000  dollars  a  year.  Latterly,  as  a  matter  of 
economy  and  following  the  Episcopalian  lead,  the 
boy  choir  is  being  substituted.  The  churches  will 
thus  reduce  their  expenditure,  as  the  boys  are  only 
given  car-money  and  musical  instruction  in  return  for 
their  services.  In  a  few  years  I  expect  this  change 
will  have  become  very  general. 

Lent  in  New  York  does  not  stop  the  fashionable 
dinner-party,  though  it  may  prove  a  certain  check 
on  the  gay  and  giddy  dance  and  theatre  party.  In 
deed,  dinners  have  lately  been  unusually  numerous 
and  brilliant.  Ten  years  ago,  when  I  first  visited 


376  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

America,  I -was  told  there  were  not  a  dozen  French 
cooks  employed  in  private  families  in  this  city ;  to 
day  there  are  more  than  150,  receiving  from  70  to  150 
dollars  a  month.  As  with  us,  these  "  artists  "  require 
one  or  two  assistants  —  sometimes  more — for  the 
manual,  unintellectual  work  of  the  kitchen,  while  they, 
of  course,  confine  their  talents  to  the  highest  portions 
of  culinary  science.  French  cooks  preside  over  the 
destinies  of  the  houses  of  the  Vanderbilts,  Astors, 
Goulds,  Lorillards,  Schuylers,  and  the  Havemeyers, 
for  example  ;  and  in  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  kitchen  the 
range  is  twenty  feet  long,  and  has  three  fires,  each 
separate  from  the  other,  with  separate  sets  of  ovens, 
and  the  chef  commands  an  under-cook,  four  maids, 
and  a  fireman.  Fine  cellars  of  wines  are  to  be  found 
in  the  houses  of  millionaires,  but  otherwise  they  are 
rare  in  the  States,  and  not  to  be  met  with,  as  in 
England,  in  the  more  ordinary  households.  In  fact, 
until  lately,  wine  has  not  been  taken  daily  at  dinner, 
for  the  average  American  drinks  iced  water,  a  glass 
of  milk,  or  a  cup  of  tea,  where  an  Englishman  de 
mands  his  sherry  or  claret.  Very  large  dinner  par 
ties  are  now  out  of  fashion.  Dinners  of  eight  or 
twelve  are  much  more  conducive  to  the  "  feast  of  rea 
son  and  flow  of  soul."  At  one  of  these  I  met  that 
most  eccentric,  erratic  poet,  Joaquin  Miller.  The 
influence  of  riches  was  the  turn  the  discussion  first 
took,  and  many  were  the  personal  details  told  of 
some  of  those  who  have  passed  as  "  the  greatest  men" 
here,  which  at  least  showed  they  were  none  of  the 
happiest,  and  afforded  fresh  proof — if  any  were  re 
quired — of  the  "  perilous  process  "  of  growing  rich, 
either  by  commerce,  literature,  or  art.  "  True  great- 


JOAQUIN    MILLER.  377 

ness  "  then  came  under  discussion,  and  Joaquin  Mil 
ler  declared  that  the  proper  stand-point  for  a  man  was 
to  try  "  to  be  useful  and  popular,  and  leave  greatness 
to  take  care  of  itself." 

The  poet  also  had  a  great  deal  to  say  in  favor  of 
cremation.  He  is  one  of  a  small  band  sworn  to  see 
that  those  belonging  to  the  self-chosen  brotherhood 
are  decently  and  discreetly  burnt  instead  of  buried 
after  death,  and  in  the  simplest,  most  inexpensive 
manner.  There  is  a  small  town  in  Pennsylvania 
named  Washington — after  the  Capitol — where  the 
leading  spirit  has  organized  a  regular  and  very  cheap 
form  of  cremation.  The  very  pine  wood  for  the  cof 
fin  is  supplied  from  the  woods  round  about  it,  and 
sent  to  any  part  of  the  country,  and  the  process  is 
performed  at  the  extraordinarily  low  rate  of  ten  dol 
lars  for  the  entire  ceremonial,  and  to  this  end  Joaquin 
Miller  hopes  he  is — if  slowly — surely  approaching. 
In  the  meanwhile  his  pen  is  at  work,  not  only  in  the 
direction  of  poetry,  but  its  barbed  edge  supplies  some 
of  the  keenest  shafts  aimed  at  the  shams  of  the 
political  and  social  life  of  the  day.  These  are  pub 
lished  in  the  Sunday  Star,  and  it  is  certainly  not  his 
fault  if  some  of  the  so-called  leaders  of  public  opin 
ion  do  not  read  some  hard  truths  about  themselves. 
The  writers  for  the  American  press  certainly  do  not 
fight  with  kid  gloves  ;  they  aim  sharp  blows  which 
ought  to  tell  in  the  long  run.  They  often  smite 
right  and  left,  and  spare  neither  man  nor  woman  who 
comes  before  the  public.  Such  men  may,  perhaps, 
be  "  useful,"  but  I  doubt  if  they  will  ever  be  "  popu 
lar  "  in  a  perverse  and  foolish  generation,  in  spite  of 
Joaquin  Miller's  theories. 


378  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

A  remarkable  figure  has  recently  disappeared  from 
New  York — that  of  Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  who  after  his 
QOth  birthday  was  to  be  seen  at  the  corner  of  Astor 
Place,  where  he  built  himself,  in  the  Cooper  Institute, 
a  monument  which  will  last  as  long  as  his  city  stands 
and  knows  the  meaning  of  the  word  gratitude.  Bene 
fits  which  can  not  be  estimated  were  conferred  by 
thus  opening  out  to  the  poorest  the  best  means  of 
self-education.  It  is  curious  to  contrast  the  result  of 
Mr.  Cooper's  influence  and  wealth  during  his  lifetime 
with  that  of  the  dead  millionaire,  Mr.  A.  T.  Stewart, 
whose  name  seems  to  have  already  passed  into  obliv 
ion,  together  with  his  projects  for  the  benefit  of  his 
countrymen.  His  widow  still  lives  in  a  marble  palace 
on  Fifth  Avenue,  but  she  only  inhabits  a  few  rooms, 
and  the  house  looks  as  silent  and  unattractive  as  a 
prison.  The  magnificnnt  iron  mansion  he  intended 
as  a  home  for  working-women,  was  opened  under 
restrictions  which  practically  excluded  all  those  for 
whom  it  was  built,  and  is  now  turned  into  the  "  Park 
Avenue  Hotel,"  and  does  not  bear  a  trace  of  its  foun 
der  or  his  purpose  ;  while  the  "  city  for  working  peo 
ple  "  projected  on  Long  Island  proves  so  difficult  of 
access  that  mechanics  refuse  to  live  there.  It  would 
certainly  seem  better  if  possible  to  carry  out  benevo 
lent  intentions  during  one's  lifetime,  rather  than  to 
leave  charitable  bequests  in  the  hands  of  trustees. 

I  suppose  there  is  hardly  another  city  with  such  a 
cluster  of  fine  hotels  as  will  be  found  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  Delmonico's, — the  St.  James,  Brunswick, 
the  Fifth  Avenue  and  the  Hoffman  House.  The 
Windsor  and  the  Brevoort  generally  divide  the  Eng 
lish  travellers  between  them.  The  Astor  House,  once 


HOTELS.  379 

so  famous,  has  been  crowded  out  of  the  running  by 
the  handsome  up-town  hotels,  and  has  subsided  into 
a  city  restaurant.  The  Bristol,  Sherwood,  and  Buck 
ingham  are  preferred  by  all  who  like  small  hotels. 
The  Everett  House  has  a  reputation  for  attracting 
literary  people.  The  Morton  House,  Union  Square 
Hotel,  and  Grand  Central  are  much  frequented  by 
theatrical  companies ;  stars  like  Sarah  Bernhardt  go 
to  the  Albemarle.  Madame  Modjeska  had  a  very 
pleasant  suite  of  rooms  at  the  Clarendon  last  season, 
and  attracted  round  her  as  usual  a  very  pleasant  circle 
of  friends. 

Residents  who  think  with  George  Eliot  that  human 
life  should  be  rooted  in  the  soil  of  its  nativity,  that 
cosmopolitanism  is  more  dearly  bought  than  we  at 
first  imagine,  and  that  people  who  live  always  in 
hotels  lack  some  of  the  sturdy  individuality  which 
is  the  growth  of  home  life,  betake  themselves  to 
houses  of  their  own  or  flats.  I  was  fortunate  enough 
to  be  recommended  to  the  New  York  Hotel,  which  is 
chiefly  frequented  by  Southerners,  where  I  was  always 
extremely  comfortable.  During  the  last  two  years  I 
have  been  there  on  several  very  pleasant  social  occa 
sions,  notably  when  Mr.  Cranston  in  the  spring  of 
1883  re-opened  the  large  dining-room,  after  its  re- 
decoration  and  enlargement,  with  a  banquet,  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  consideration  shown  by  the 
numerous  permanent  "  boarders  "  who  had  naturally 
been  subjected  to  much  discomfort  during  an  exile 
into  smaller  rooms,  which  they  had  borne  with  infinite 
good  humor.  The  tables  were  covered  with  choice 
flowers  and  fruit ;  the  two  hundred  guests  were  all  in 
full  evening  dress,  and  as  many  of  the  ladies  were 


380  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

well-known  Southern  belles,  the  scene  was  really  a 
brilliant  one.  There  was  no  lack  of  merriment  any 
where.  General  M'Clellan  was  the  centre  of  a  very 
pleasant  party;  Mr.  Hutchinson,  ex-Mayor  of  Utica, 
gave  some  amusing  accounts  of  Oscar  Wilde's  recep 
tion  in  his  city;  opposite  the  handsome  English 
actor,  William  Herbert,  and  his  clever  wife,  sat  Colonel 
Mapleson,  who  told  some  excellent  operatic  stones, 
and  before  dinner  was  over  Captain  Irving  had  per 
suaded  every  one  near  him  that  the  Republic  was  the 
only  steamer  in  which  to  cross  the  Atlantic  ! 

A  wise  change  introduced  into  American  hotels  of 
recent  years  is  the  adoption  to  a  great  extent  of  the 
European  system  of  living  by  means  of  a  cafe  or  res 
taurant  attached  to  the  hotels,  where  people  can 
order  just  what  they  require  instead  of  taking  the 
meals  provided  at  given  hours  and  included  in  the 
bill.  The  cooking  is  invariably  better  in  the  restau 
rant  than  in  the  hotel  itself,  though  both  are  under 
the  same  management,  and  those  who  understand 
ordering  a  breakfast  or  dinner  "  d  la  carte  "  can  live  a 
great  deal  better  and  almost  as  reasonably  as  on  the 
old  American  plan. 

Of  course  New  York  abounds  in  clubs — the  Union, 
Union  League,  the  Lambs,  and  the  Lotos  are  known 
to  the  world,  and  there  is  a  Bohemian  institution 
called  the  "  Pot  Luck  Club,"  founded,  I  believe,  by 
an  Irish  lady,  and  the  resort  of  many  brilliant  writers 
and  artists  of  both  sexes  on  certain  choice  occasions, 
to  one  of  which  I  was  invited,  but  I  was  unable  to 
avail  myself  of  an  experience  which  probably  would 
have  been  quite  unique. 

Just  as  I  was  leaving  New  York,  people  were  much 


TIFFANY  S.  351 

exercised  by  the  introduction  of  seventeen  yellow 
and  black  cabs  drawn  by  good  horses  in  bright  nickel 
harness,  which  promised  to  effect  a  much  needed 
revolution.  The  system  of  carriage  hire  has  been  a 
source  of  equal  grievance  to  the  traveller  and  the 
New  Yorker  who  has  no  carriage  of  his  own.  It  has 
often  cost  me  255.  to  spend  a  couple  of  hours  at  a 
friend's  reception ;  in  no  city  has  carriage  hire  been 
hitherto  so  exorbitant  as  in  New  York,  and  the  pub 
lic  will  rejoice  if  the  cheap  cab  company  succeeds  in 
obliging  the  ordinary  hackman  from  the  livery  stables 
to  arrive  at  a  reasonable  charge  for  his  carriage  or 
coupe".  Anyhow  that  inaugural  procession  of  cabs 
was  a  welcome  sight  last  spring,  with  the  monogram 
of  the  company  surmounted  with  the  Prince  of  Wales 
feathers  on  the  yellow  panel.  At  the  back  of  the 
cabs  there  is  a  reversible  sign  "  reserved  "  and  "  to 
hire,"  so  the  humiliation  of  hailing  a  pre-occupied 
vehicle  is  avoided.  The  cabs  became  at  once  popu 
lar,  and  were  familiarly  known  as  "  canaries "  or 
"  black  and  tans." 

Tiffany's  celebrated  store  in  Union  Square  attracts 
every  visitor,  but  only  the  favored  few  are  taken  be 
hind  the  scenes  into  the  busy  workshops  arranged  on 
the  fourth  and  fifth  floors  of  that  colossal  establish 
ment,  from  which  I  enjoyed  in  addition  a  most  splen 
did  view  of  the  city  and  the  East  River.  An  im 
mense  space  is  devoted  to  the  repairing  department ; 
about  a  dozen  clerks  are  required  to  record  the  daily 
receipt  and  delivery  of  articles  sent  through  this 
branch  of  the  work  alone.  About  800  persons  are 
engaged  as  jewellers,  engravers,  die  sinkers,  fan  mak 
ers,  silversmiths  ;  and  though  much  of  Tiffany's  silver- 


382  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

ware  is  of  his  own  manufacture,  he  has  large  dealings 
with  the  Gorham  Silver  Company  as  well.  No  solid 
silver  is  now  imported — this  factory  in  Rhode  Island 
has  driven  it  from  the  market. 

Brentano's  is  the  constant  resort  of  the  English 
traveller  in  New  York,  and  in  the  branch  establish 
ments  at  Washington  and  Chicago  the  welcome  Eng 
lish  and  European  papers  and  publications  can  also 
be  feasted  on  by  the  home-sick  wanderer.  Brentano's 
is  by  far  the  oldest  business  of  the  kind  in  America, 
and  supplies  native  information  quite  as  liberally  as 
foreign,  for  more  than  a  hundred  daily  papers  from 
different  cities  throughout  the  country  will  be  found 
on  the  tables  in  that  department.  Books  and  station 
ery  as  well  as  theatre  and  railway  tickets  are  also  sold 
there ;  you  are  not  obliged  to  take  your  railroad 
ticket  in  the  States  at  the  depot  just  as  your  train  is 
about  to  start  and  you  have  not  a  moment  to  spare. 
You  can  purchase  it  in  advance  and  use  it  for  the  one 
journey  any  day  you  please,  "  stop  off"  as  you  find 
most  convenient  en  route,  and  resume  your  trip  when 
ever  you  like !  This,  together  with  the  system  of 
checking  baggage,  are  great  improvements  upon  Brit 
ish  regulations,  which  may  perhaps  find  their  way  to 
our  shores  now  that  so  many  more  travellers  from  the 
old  country  are  able  to  realize  their  advantages.  In 
days  when  the  British  Association  has  found  it  pos 
sible  to  summon  its  members  to  a  meeting  in  Canada 
and  give  them  a  trip  through  the  United  States,  it 
can  not  be  supposed  that  Englishmen  will  quietly 
settle  down  to  the  inconveniences  and  discomforts 
entailed  by  a  blind  adherence  to  rules  and  regulations 
founded  on  no  better  policy  than  the  "  always  has 
been  "  custom ! 


THE    CUSTOM-HOUSE.  383 

The  American  and  Colonial  Exchange  is  a  very 
useful  undertaking,  providing  a  social  club  and  ladies' 
drawing-room  for  travellers  in  Union  Square,  New 
York,  and  also  in  London,  opposite  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre  in  the  Haymarket.  Letters  are  received 
there  for  subscribers,  and  remailed  to  any  given  ad 
dress  ;  information  respecting  steamship  and  railway 
travel  afforded,  and  facilities  for  exchanging  moneys 
and  cashing  drafts.  In  short,  it  is  just  the  bureau  of 
information  which  tourists  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic  find  so  invaluable.  Steamers  are  met,  and 
any  assistance  given  to  strangers  while  passing 
through  that  dreaded  ordeal — even  to  the  innocent — 
the  custom-house.  The  last  time  I  landed  while 
waiting  with  Mrs.  Ian  Robertson,  Dr.  Phelps,  and  a 
group  of  friends,  who  kindly  came  to  meet  me,  I  was 
introduced  to  the  lady  at  the  head  of  the  personal 
searching  department,  who  told  me  some  of  the 
strange  experiences  encountered  in  the  discharge  of  her 
peculiarly  unpleasant  duties.  Not  only  are  "  dutiable 
articles  "  found  concealed  on  modistes,  but  contraband 
goods  are  sometimes  discovered  sewn  in  the  dress 
linings  of  fashionable  ladies!  While  I  listened  to 
her  narratives  I  was  much  amused  by  watching  the 
custom-house  officials  searching  the  Saratoga  trunk 
of  a  commercial  gentleman,  who  had  just  informed 
them  he  had  "  only  a  few  samples — of  no  particular 
value."  But  they  ruthlessly  turned  out  the  contents, 
and  found  the  trunk  simply  crammed  with  boxes  of 
gloves,  laces,  and  silks,  and  for  which  he  was  charged 
duty  amounting  to  several  hundred  dollars,  and  must 
have  thought  himself  lucky  in  being  allowed  to  de 
part  with  his  goods  at  all.  For  if  such  articles  are 


384  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

discovered,  not  having  been  "  declared,"  the  Govern 
ment  confiscates  them,  and  sells  them  at  public  auc 
tion  ! 

I  am  not  in  the  least  affected  with  a  passionate 
patriotism  as  regards  the  dress  question,  but  while  ac 
knowledging  the  beauty  and  vivacity  of  American 
women,  I  can  not  subscribe  to  the  general  verdict 
which  assigns  them  the  palm  over  English  women  in 
the  matter  of  millinery.  Of  course  one  is  prepared 
for  the  gaudy  colors,  which  delight  the  hearts  of  the 
negro  ladies,  but  why  does  the  true-born  American 
girl  indulge  in  hats  of  such  gigantic  proportions,  or 
else,  flying  off  in  the  other  extreme,  wear  one  of  such 
tiny  dimensions  at  the  back  of  her  head,  that  she 
gives  the  passer-by  a  full  display  of  the  peculiar  style 
of  hair-dressing  in  vogue  in  the  States — known  as  the 
Langtry  bang  ?  Gradually,  however,  a  better  fashion 
is  coming  in  ;  Macqueen  &  Co.'s  hats  have  been  recent 
ly  introduced,  and  as  ladies  go  to  the  theatre  in  what 
is  described  as  "  street  dress,"  this  is  a  much  needed 
reform  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  prefer  to  watch  the 
play  instead  of  a  milliner's  last  achievement.  Once 
in  an  American  theatre  between  me  and  the  stage  in 
tervened  a  tall  lady  in  a  singularly  high  hat,  with  a 
pure  white  crown,  embroidered  with  pearls  and  crys 
tals,  over  which  nodded  long  snowy  plumes,  entirely 
obscuring  my  vision  of  the  dramatic  heroine.  "  Hats 
off,  ladies,"  would,  I  think,  be  a  very  reasonable  re 
quest  under  such  provocations. 

A  very  curious  novelty  was  introduced  at  the  open 
ing  of  the  New  York  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  but 
was  laughed  out  of  existence  by  the  critics  before  the 
week  was  over.  Certain  wealthy  people  came  with 


NUMEROUS    INVITATIONS.  385 

an  escort  in  the  shape  of  valets,  who  were  stationed 
outside  their  master's  box,  and  when  visits  were  ex 
changed,  cards  were  duly  handed  in  by  these  gentle- 
men-in-waiting.  But  the  press  with  one  accord  de 
nounced  the  innovation,  and  ridiculed  in  no  measured 
terms  the  introduction  of  Mr.  James  Yellowplush  as 
"shoddyish  and  un-American,"  and  as  an  unworthy 
effort  "  to  astonish  the  simple-minded  democracy  of  the 
foremost  Republic  of  the  world."  Now,  as  liveried 
servants  are  daily  to  be  seen  in  the  houses  of  the  haut 
ton  in  New  York  and  on  the  box-seats  of  the  carriages 
which  frequent  Central  Park,  many  of  the  comments 
seemed  to  me  somewhat  far-fetched  and  inconsistent, 
though  one  naturally  regards  the  presence  of  such 
guards  of  honor  at  the  Opera  as  thoroughly  snobbish 
and  out  of  place. 

When  I  landed  in  New  York  for  the  third  time,  I 
found  such  numerous  invitations  to  breakfasts,  lunch 
eons,  dinners,  theatre  supper  parties  at  Delmonico's, 
that  the  great  difficulty  in  life  was  how  to  keep  away 
from  the  various  temptations  to  gaiety  so  lavishly 
thrown  in  one's  path.  The  lion  of  the  hour  in  one 
circle  was  Henry  Irving — in  another  Matthew  Arnold 
— for  Lord  Coleridge  had  just  returned  to  his  native 
shores.  The  rush  for  seats  at  the  Star  Theatre  was 
unprecedented,  although  of  course  Irving's  "  walk " 
and  his  "  peculiar  accent  "  were  fruitful  sources  of  con 
versation.  The  enthusiasm  Ellen  Terry  excited  was 
as  universal  as  it  was  fervid,  and  at  once  Ellen  Terry 
shoes  and  Ellen  Terry  caps  filled  the  shop  windows. 
Rumor  said  that  the  actress  was  far  from  well,  and 
very  home-sick,  but  I  chanced  to  see  her,  soon  after 
her  arrival,  in  a  box  at  the  Union  Square  Theatre, 


386  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Felix  Moscheles,  looking  as  radiant 
and  vivacious  as  ever,  and  evidently  thoroughly  en 
joying  Mr.  Jefferson's  marvellous  impersonation  of 
Caleb  Plummer  in  The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth. 

Before  I  left  for  England  I  saw  the  last  representa. 
tion  of  Robert  Buchanan's  "  Lady  Clare "  at  Wai- 
lack's  ;  it  had  proved  the  success  of  the  season.  The 
feature  of  the  representation,  after  Miss  Coghlan's 
admirable  acting,  was,  to  my  mind,  the  "  Hon.  Cecil 
Brookfield  "  of  Mr.  J.  Buckstone,  and  Miss  Measor's 
"  Mary  Middleton."  The  delightful  comedy  afforded 
by  these  young  artists  was  of  unspeakable  value  to 
the  entire  drama.  At  Daly's  Theatre  Miss  Rehan 
was  carrying  everything  before  her  in  Dollars  and 
Sense  by  the  most  grotesque  piece  of  acting  I  ever 
saw  in  my  life,  which  is  just  now  being  keenly  appre 
ciated  by  London  playgoers,  thanks  to  the  enterprise 
of  Mr.  Terriss.  In  spite  of  Dion  Boucicault's  recent 
charge,  that  London  audiences  are  "  more  capricious 
and  more  unfair  to  anything  foreign  than  any  com 
munity  "  he  ever  had  to  do  with,  Mr.  Daly's  entire 
company  have  secured  the  heartiest  recognition.  Mr. 
Lewis,  whose  wonderful  facial  expressions  and  comic 
tone  of  voice  have  gained  him  so  high  a  position 
among  American  low  comedians,  made  his  mark  here 
at  once  both  with  the  critics  and  the  public.  John 
T.  Raymond,  it  is  true,  failed  to  achieve  in  London 
the  success  he  deserved  for  his  inimitable  representa 
tion  of  "  Colonel  Sellars,"  but  it  should  be  remem 
bered  that  his  play  called  for  a  familiarity  with 
American  ways,  manners,  and  politics  which  an  ordi 
nary  English  audience  did  not  possess.  Yankee  fun 
is  altogether  sui generis,  and  incomprehensible  to  the 


AMERICAN    DRAMATISTS  387 

uninitiated  !  Consequently,  Mr.  Raymond  did  not 
find  "  the  millions  in  it "  he  has  in  his  own  country. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Florence  were  fortunately  pro 
vided  with  a  play  full  of  broader  and  more  general 
humor,  and  they  obtained  a  wide  and  enthusiastic 
hearing.  London  playgoers  gave  no  niggardly  greet 
ing  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  Laurence  Barrett,  or  Edwin 
Booth,  and  as  for  the  beautiful  Mary  Anderson,  she 
has  simply  taken  the  whole  of  Britain  by  storm  ! 
Miss  Anderson  emphatically  represents  what  the  stage 
still  wants  in  both  countries,  well-bred,  educated, 
accomplished  ladies,  whose  principles  have  been  tested 
and  whose  culture  is  the  result  of  thought  and  ex 
perience.  America  has  sent  us  such  representatives 
before,  and,  in  spite  of  Mr.  Boucicault's  allegation, 
neither  "  caprice  "  nor  "  want  of  appreciation  "  have 
yet  driven  the  gifted  and  estimable  daughters  of  the 
late  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bateman,  or  other  American  artists 
I  could  name,  from  these  inhospitable  British  shores ! 
Bronson  Howard's  popular  play,  "  Young  Mrs. 
Winthrop,"  was  at  the  height  of  its  success  when  I 
saw  it  at  the  Madison  Square  Theatre,  celebrated  for 
its  movable  stage.  With  the  exception  of  the  first 
act,  I  liked  it  better  than  any  other  native  produc 
tion  I  chanced  to  see  in  the  States.  The  popularity 
of  such  plays  as  "  Hazel  Kirk,"  "  The  Rajah,"  and 
"  May  Blossom,"  I  can  not  understand.  Among  the 
American  dramatists  who  have  achieved  success  may 
be  mentioned  Augustine  Daly,  Mrs.  Burnett,  Bartley 
Campbell,  F.  Marsden,  Charles  Gaylor,  Leonard  Gro- 
ver,  and  John  Habberston.  Humanity  is  the  same 
all  the  world  over,  but  writers  are  naturally  happier 
in  their  attempts  to  reproduce  the  life  and  scenery 


388  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

with  which  they  are  most  familiar.  Obedience  to  this 
self-evident  truth  enables  French  and  English  authors 
to  bring  upon  the  stage  representations  of  character 
which  have  a  life-like  reality.  In  spite  of  all  that  is 
urged  about  the  "  decline  "  and  "  degeneracy  "  of  the 
drama,  it  has  seldom  appealed  more  strongly  to  a 
healthy  public  sentiment  than  it  does  to-day  in  both 
countries,  and  the  profession  certainly  never  contained 
so  many  men  and  women  entitled  to  respect  for  pri 
vate  virtues  and  graces,  as  well  as  genuine  dramatic 
talent.  We  can  not  afford  to  ignore  such  a  source  of 
public  enlightenment  as  the  stage.  There  was  a  time 
when  religious  people  turned  away  from  all  literature 
in  the  form  of  a  novel ;  now  they  have  begun  to  dis 
criminate  between  the  wheat  and  the  chaff,  and  to 
acknowledge  that  good  novels  instruct  as  well  as 
amuse,  and  have  a  distinct  sphere  and  value  of  their 
own.  The  day  is  coming  when  it  will  be  more  widely 
realized  than  it  is  at  present,  that  the  theatre  is  an 
influence  for  good  or  evil  which  demands  the  gravest 
consideration  and  sympathy,  and  that  there  is  a  power 
which  can  not  be  despised  in  the  play  which  sets  forth 
the  value  of  living  up  to  one's  ideal,  represents  the 
highest  form  of  love,  portrays  the  redemption  which 
comes  from  self-sacrifice  and  repentance,  and  the 
Nemesis  which  always  follows  a  wrong-doing,  before 
great  masses  of  people,  dead  to  other  influences,  who 
can  be  reached  in  no  other  way. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Canada — Sleighing — Miss  Rye's  and  Miss  Macpherson's  homes 
.  for  English  waifs  and  strays  —  Occupations  for  women — 
Report  of  the  Montreal  Protective  Immigration  Society — 
Educated  women  versus  fine  ladies  wanted  in  all  our  colonies 
— Agricultural  prospects — The  Marquis  of  Lome  on  the 
Canadian  climate  —  Lady  Gordon-Cathcart's  settlement  at 
Wappella — A  day  at  Niagara  Falls — American  homes — Dr. 
Charles  Phelps — Departure  from  America. 

OF  Canada  I  saw  far  too  little.  A  pleasant  visit  to 
some  old  friends  in  Montreal  gave  me  my  chief  in 
sight  into  Canadian  ways  and  society.  Although  the 
ground  was  covered  with  many  feet  of  snow,  the  at 
mosphere  was  dry  and  bracing,  and  never  have  I  seen 
brighter  winter  skies  or  more  brilliant  moonlight.  In 
spite  of  asthma,  I  enjoyed  the  great  feature  of  life  in 
this  snow-clad  region.  Nestled  in  buffalo  robes,  with 
face  and  ears  protected  by  a  fur  cap  and  a  woollen 
cloud,  I  ventured  to  sleigh,  and  made  the  acquaint 
ance  of  the  hills  from  the  top  of  which  Montreal 
looks  so  picturesque.  The  rapid,  silent  motion,  as 
you  glide  through  the  electric  air,  in  a  well-appointed 
sleigh,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  handsome  horses  with 
silver-mounted  harness  and  tinkling  bells,  is  a  novel 
sensation  to  the  Londoner  accustomed  to  the  noise 
of  commonplace  wheels !  Edgar  Poe's  lines  assume 
a  new  meaning  as  you  hear  with  your  own  ears  along 
the  crisp  Canadian  snow-bound  roads — 

"  Sledges  with  the  bells — 
Silver  bells ! 

(389) 


39°  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

What  a  world  of  merriment  their  melody  foretells  ! 
How  they  tinkle,  tinkle,  tinkle 
In  the  icy  air  of  night !  " 

There  are  many  kinds  of  sleighs — the  modest  cut 
ter  hired  from  the  livery  stables,  the  sportsman's 
"  sulky,"  family  sleighs,  the  tradesman's  "  democrat," 
"  bob  sleighs  " — in  short,  you  find  all  kinds  of  vehicles 
on  runners,  but  one  and  all  fill  the  air  with  the  cheer 
ful  sound 

"Of  the  tintinnabulation  that  so  musically  swells 
From  the  jingling  and  the  tinkling  of  the  bells." 

Canada  offers  many  pleasures  in  the  form  of  to- 
boganning,  skating,  ice-yachting,  running  in  snow- 
shoes,  and  also  to  the  sportsman  who  appreciates  the 
pursuit  of  moose,  antelope,  and  buffalo  elk  ;  there  is 
plenty  of  game — prairie  chickens  and  ducks,  pheas 
ants  and  partridges,  as  well  as  snipes,  cranes,  and 
plovers.  The  river  and  lakes  abound  in  sturgeon, 
white  fish,  pickerel,  bass,  pike,  perch,  and  many  other 
varieties.  Frog-catching  has  assumed  the  aspect  of 
an  industry  for  boys  in  Ontario.  The  marshes  at 
Holland  Landing,  near  Barrie,  abound  with  these  lit 
tle  animals,  which  are  regarded  as  great  delicacies  in 
the  States.  There  is  a  great  demand  for  them  in  the 
hotels  and  restaurants,  consequently  many  boys  find 
occupation  in  catching  and  skinning  them,  after  which 
they  are  forwarded  to  New  York,  Boston,  Detroit, 
Chicago,  and  elsewhere. 

I  was  much  disappointed  in  being  unable,  owing  to 
illness,  to  visit  the  homes  provided  for  the  English 
waifs  and  strays  which  are  transported  by  Miss  Rye 
and  Miss  Macpherson  to  Quebec  and  Ontario.  But 


CANADA.  391 

I  heard  quite  enough  to  assure  me  that  the  children 
are  well  cared  for  in  the  homes  opened  for  their  recep 
tion,  wisely  distributed  in  respectable  families,  and 
placed  in  positions  where  they  may  establish  them 
selves  for  life.  The  labor  in  a  Canadian  household 
compels  industry,  and  admits  of  but  little  idleness  at 
any  season  of  the  year.  There  is  a  great  dearth  of 
domestic  servants,  but  a  general  feeling  prevails  that 
the  emigration  of  ladies  in  search  of  places  as  gover 
nesses  and  companions  is  a  very  great  mistake.  Sev 
eral  who  had  been  sent  out  by  philanthropists  at 
home  called  on  me  personally  and  said  they  found 
the  chances  of  employment  there  scarcer  than  in  the 
old  country,  and  heartily  wished  themselves  in  Eng 
land  again.  It  is  quite  absurd  for  ladies  to  emigrate 
unless  they  are  prepared  to  accept  the  exigencies  of 
life  abroad  ;  they  must  be  willing  to  abandon  all  fine- 
ladyism  for  practical  work ;  they  must  be  ready  to 
turn  their  hand  to  anything  and  everything.  There 
is  room  in  Canada  and  America,  still  more  in  Austra 
lia  and  New  Zealand,  for  educated  women  who  are 
ready  to  "  rough  it  "  as  their  brothers  have  done  be 
fore  them,  but  none  for  those  who  look  for  positions 
which  are  the  outgrowths  of  an  older  civilization. 

The  Women's  Protective  Immigration  Society  of 
Montreal  has  just  published  its  second  annual  report 
from  which  it  appears  that  236  persons  have  been  re 
ceived  into  the  home  for  various  periods  of  time, 
varying  from  one  day  to  a  fortnight's  duration,  in  the 
past  year.  Those  of  a  superior  class  who  went  were 
all  provided  with  suitable  employment,  and  the  man 
agers  state  that  no  such  persons  need  be  under  any 
apprehension  in  proceeding  to  the  Dominion,  for  at 


THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

each  season  openings  occur  for  sensible,  capable  per 
sons,  who  will  quickly  and  cheerfully  suit  themselves 
to  the  unavoidable  change  of  circumstances  in  a  new 
country.  Free  board  and  lodging  are  given  to  female 
immigrants  for  twenty-four  hours  after  arrival.  A 
charge  of  los.  per  week  or  is.  lod.  per  day  is  made 
when  they  remain  for  a  longer  period.  It  is  stated 
that  domestic  servants  find  ready  employment  at 
from  £i  53.  to  £2  monthly,  according  to  capability. 
Good  cooks  obtain  from  £2  los.  to  £4  per  month. 
Women  who  understand  farm  work  can  be  placed 
with  country  people.  Girls  who  wish  to  enter  ser 
vice  for  the  first  time,  though  without  experience, 
are  much  in  demand,  and  can  at  once  earn  £i  per 
month. 

Women  are  largely  employed  in  telephone  and 
telegraph  offices,  and  the  manager  of  the  Toronto 
Institute  considers  that  they  excel  men  in  skilfulness 
of  manipulation.  Straw-hat  making,  from  the  wide- 
spreading  "  Palmetto  "  to  the  aristocratic  leghorn  and 
tuscan,  keep  many  female  operatives  at  work.  The 
packing  of  cheese  and  butter,  and  dairy  work  gener 
ally,  affords  plenty  of  employment  for  women  as  well 
as  the  furrier's  trade  in  buffalo  robes,  caps,  muffs,  and 
mitts,  bookbinding,  boot  and  leather  work,  and  the 
fabrication  of  woollen,  flax,  and  cotton  goods.  For 
dressmakers  and  milliners  there  is  a  great  demand, 
and  a  fair  needlewoman  and  good  fitter  can  be  sure 
of  constant  work  and  liberal  pay  in  the  large  cities. 

In  the  great  prairie  farms  there  is  room  for  a  large 
accession  of  labor;  the  province  of  Manitoba  alone 
contains  seventy-eight  million  acres  of  land  !  Most 
of  this  land  must  as  yet  be  described  as  pure  prairie, 


MARQUIS    OF    LORNE.  393 

but  a  very  large  portion  is  suitable  for  the  growtli  of 
wheat  and  other  cereals,  barley,  potatoes,  and  grasses, 
and  has  sufficient  timber  for  ordinary  purposes.  The 
great  tract  of  prairie  stretching  from  Winnipeg  to 
the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  offers  excellent 
agricultural  land  for  the  raising  of  sheep  and  cattle. 
Laborers  of  all  kinds  find  plenty  of  employment  in 
the  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  and  a  farmer  with 
a  capital  of  a  hundred  pounds  is  able  to  establish 
himself  in  a  very  fair  position  at  once.  A  free  grant 
of  150  acres  can  be  obtained  from  the  Dominion 
Government  by  every  British  subject  over  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  settlers  have  also  the  right  to  pre 
empt  another  160  acres  by  the  payment  of  8s.  to  los. 
an  acre.  With  regard  to  the  coldness  of  the  climate, 
it  can  now  be  said,  on  the  authority  of  the  Marquis 
of  Lome,  that  the  cold  is  less  felt  there  than  in  Scot 
land  ;  that  fevers  are  unknown,  that  settlers  live  to  a 
great  age,  and  that  the  Canadian  race  is  particularly 
strong  and  vigorous.  The  cold  should  never  be 
measured  by  the  thermometer,  but  by  the  humidity 
of  the  atmosphere.  The  very  snow  is  crisp  and  hard 
as  crystal  powder.  Lord  Lome  strongly  recommends 
this  colony  to  intending  emigrants,  and  believes  that 
the  realities  of  life  in  Canada  far  exceed  the  rational 
anticipation  of  most  newcomers. 

Lady  Gordon-Cathcart,  finding  that  her  tenantry 
had  become  too  crowded  on  her  Scotch  estate,  estab 
lished  a  settlement  at  Wappella,  on  the  western  side 
of  Manitoba,  and  gave  each  family  willing  to  emigrate 
a  loan  of  £100.  Her  emigrants  have  already  secured 
more  than  three  thousand  acres  of  land,  and  at  once 
began  to  plough  the  prairie  turf  and  plant  it  with  po- 


394  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

tatoes.  Within  eight  weeks  they  were  enjoying  an 
excellent  crop,  which,  for  size,  flavor,  and  maturity, 
were  all  that  could  be  desired.  The  Bell  farm  and 
Elliot  settlement  afford  many  remarkable  proofs  of 
the  results  of  various  industries  in  the  Dominion, 
through  which  are  scattered  small  and  large  farms  in 
every  stage  of  cultivation.  As  an  instance  of  the 
successful  settler,  which  is  typical  of  hundreds  of 
others,  I  quote  the  following  testimony,  for  the  ac 
curacy  of  which  I  can  vouch :  "  I  came  here,"  said 
the  emigrant,  "eighteen  months  ago  with  my  brother. 
We  had  just  eight  shillings  between  us  when  we  had 
paid  the  office  fees  for  the  160  acres  of  land.  We 
worked  for  wages,  getting  five  or  six  shillings  a  day, 
and  wre  also  put  up  our  log  hut,  so  that  my  wife  and 
children  were  able  to  join  me  from  Ontario.  Wre  have 
now  eighty  acres  of  wheat,  and  we  owe  no  man  any 
thing.  Next  year  we  shall  have  150  acres  of  wheat, 
and  shall  then  take  another  lot  of  land,  and  make  it 
right  for  my  brother." 

Canada  seemed  to  me  half  French  and  half  Scotch, 
and  in  religion  more  than  half  Catholic,  with  a  sprink 
ling  from  other  nations  and  creeds.  A  large  Jesuit 
College  flourishes  at  Quebec,  and  a  Scotch  University 
in  Montreal.  The  Sisters  of  Charity  are  very  active 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  convent  schools 
were  for  a  long  time  so  much  better  than  the  other 
seminaries  for  girls  that  they  even  attracted  scholars 
from  good  Protestant  families.  One  of  the  great 
sights  in  Montreal  is  the  Victoria  Tubular  Bridge 
over  the  St.  Lawrence,  a  marvellous  structure  of  iron 
two  miles  long,  which  was  completed  in  1861  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  drove  in  the  last  rivet. 


NIAGARA    FALLS.  395 

Among  my  pleasantest  trips  must  certainly  be  reck 
oned  my  last  visit  to  Niagara.  It  was  kindly  arranged 
by  Mr.  Edmund  Hayes,  one  of  the  engineers  of  the 
new  cantilever  bridge,  from  which  such  a  magnificent 
view  of  the  Falls  is  now  obtained.  When  it  was  for 
mally  opened  for  traffic  last  December,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  a  very  large  and  distinguished  assembly,  I 
was  unable  to  accept  the  President's  invitation,  as  I 
was  already  far  on  my  way  to  Colorado,  but  I  sus 
pect  the  quiet  inspection  of  the  bridge,  with  the  small 
but  delightful  party  of  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes 
invited  to  meet  me,  was  far  more  enjoyable  than  the 
brilliant  but  crowded  opening  ceremonial. 

At  first  the  morning  seemed  unpropitious,  yet,  in 
spite  of  the  falling  snow,  eight  undaunted  spirits 
started  off  from  Buffalo  for  that  expedition.  We 
drove  across  the  suspension  bridge  to  the  Canadian 
side,  and  found  luncheon  had  been  prepared  for  us 
at  Rosti's — a  house  famous  for  its  cookery,  and  kept 
by  a  Swiss,  a  landlord  of  the  old  school,  who  person 
ally  superintended  the  serving  of  the  repast,  and  took 
a  genuine  pride  in  our  appreciation  of  his  excellent 
viands. 

The  new  bridge  across  the  turbulent  Niagara  river 
is  not  only  a  proof  of  American  enterprise  and  in 
genuity,  but  marks  an  epoch  in  the  science  of  engi 
neering  and  bridge  building.  To  span  this  rushing 
torrent,  500  feet  across  from  shore  to  shore  at  an  al 
titude  of  240  feet,  was  no  mean  triumph,  but  it  was 
accomplished  in  less  than  eight  months  by  the  Union 
Bridge  Works.  The  theory  of  its  construction  hav 
ing  been  duly  explained  to  me  with  natural  enthusi 
asm  by  its  projector,  we  drove  to  the  Whirlpool 


396  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

Rapids,  and  descended  to  the  water's  brink  by  means 
of  cars  lowered  by  machinery  through  a  tunnel  cut  in 
the  cliffs  at  an  angle  of  about  30  degrees.  It  seemed 
a  serious  undertaking,  and  more  than  one  lady  of  our 
party  felt  glad  when  that  part  of  the  proceeding  came 
to  a  safe  conclusion. 

I  am  not  going  to  attempt  to  describe  the  inde 
scribable  ;  the  whirl  of  these  furious  waters,  over  the 
rocks  that  lie  in  wait  for  them  in  the  bed  of  the  river, 
has  to  be  seen ;  it  can  not  be  written  about.  I  could 
simply  stand  awed  and  silenced  by  the  grandeur  of 
the  sight,  and  almost  deafened  by  the  roar  of  the 
surging  waters,  and  marvel  how  Captain  Webb  could 
have  risked  such  an  undertaking,  as  the  attempt  to 
swim  the  Whirlpool  Rapids,  which  dash  along  at  the 
rate  of  thirty  miles  an  hour,  over  the  boulders  in  the 
river.  After  this  we  drove  to  the  Falls  themselves, 
Prospect  Park,  Goat  Island  Bridge,  and  various  places 
of  interest,  and  I  returned  at  night  to  the  hotel  feel 
ing  this  was  indeed  one  of  the  red-letter  days  of  my 
last  tour  through  the  United  States. 

Although  these  reminiscences  must  draw  to  a  con 
clusion  without  the  record  of  many  pleasant  glimpses 
into  American  homes,  in  which  I  found  the  ideal  con 
ception  a  living  reality,  delightful  visits  to  hospitable 
friends  in  Syracuse,  Utica,  Washington,  Milwaukee, 
and  elsewhere,  will  never  be  forgotten,  nor  the  pleas 
ant  time  spent  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Moulton,  in  earlier 
times  at  Auburn,  with  Mrs.  Wright,  the  sister  of 
Lucretia  Mott,  and  later  on  with  General  and  Mrs. 
Seward,  in  the  old  home  enriched  by  Governor  Sew- 
ard's  trophies  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  presented 
to  him  by  the  various  European,  Indian,  Chinese, 


SHIPWRECKS.  397 

and    Japanese   potentates   with  whom   he    came   in 
contact. 

I  have  but  little  to  note  respecting  my  ocean  ex- 
periences  during  my  six  voyages  across  the  Atlantic, 
for  unlike  Gilbert  and  Sullivan's  famous  Captain  of 
the  Pinafore,  I  am  always  sick  at  sea.  The  stew 
ardess  is  the  sole  person  with  whom  I  am  brought  in 
contact,  and  I  have  reason  to  be  very  grateful  for  the 
attention  paid  me  by  these  all-important  officials ! 
Asthma  kept  me  a  prisoner  in  my  state-room  through 
out  every  voyage,  and  greatly  am  I  indebted  to  Dr. 
Charles  Phelps  for  his  skilful  treatment  and  unremit 
ting  kindness  which  followed  a  terrible  attack  of 
asthma  and  bronchitis  on  board  the  City  of  Rome, 
which  threatened  to  upset  the  whole  of  my  plans  for 
the  season  when  I  last  landed  in  New  York. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  two  out  of  my  three 
return  passages  were  actually  booked  in  steamers 
which  were  wrecked  on  previous  voyages.  The  City 
of  Brussels,  in  which,  thanks  to  Mr.  Ernest  Inman,  I 
enjoyed  such  comfortable  quarters  on  my  second 
outward  bound  passage,  met  her  fate  in  a  fog  in  the 
Mersey  itself.  The  other  calamity  was  far  more  ter 
rible,  for  it  involved  a  fearful  loss  of  life.  I  was  to 
have  sailed  for  England,  after  my  first  visit  in  1873, 
in  the  Atlantic — the  ill-fated  White  Star  steamer — 
which  ran  ashore  on  the  Nova  Scotia  coast,  with- 
nearly  a  thousand  souls  on  board.  Only  thirteen 
saloon  passengers  were  saved,  and  not  one  woman. 
Many  were  hurried  into  eternity  before  they  could 
leave  their  state-rooms,  while  those  who  contrived  to 
reach  the  deck  were  swept  off  into  the  surging  sea, 
or  crushed  by  the  fore-boom,  which,  broken  from  its 


398  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

fastenings  by  the  raging  wind,  swung  round  with  ter 
rible  force,  destroying  all  within  its  reach.  For  reck 
less  negligence  it  would  be  hard  to  find  in  the  ship 
wrecks  of  recent  years  a  counterpart  to  that  of  the 
Atlantic,  whose  captain,  on  a  dark  night,  in  a  rough 
sea,  along  the  most  dangerous  part  of  a  coast  famous 
for  its  treacherous  currents  and  perilous  rocks,  left 
his  proper  place  on  the  bridge,  and  retired  to  sleep  in 
his  chart-room.  The  landsman,  when  the  steamer 
nears  the  shore,  shakes  off  the  anxieties  which  some 
times  depress  him  in  mid-ocean,  while  the  winds  and 
waves  make  a  mere  plaything  of  the  huge  vessel,  and 
toss  her  from  side  to  side  until  it  seems  impossible 
that  she  can  ever  right  herself,  or  resist  the  angry 
waves  which  appear  battling  for  the  command  of  her; 
but  the  sailor  knows  the  real  hour  of  danger  comes 
when  he  approaches  the  coast ;  at  this  point  the  vigi 
lance  of  a  good  captain  is  redoubled,  and  he  never 
trusts  his  charge  to  subordinate  officers  at  the  time 
of  the  greatest  peril  and  responsibility.  It  is  marvel 
lous  to  think  of  the  number  of  steamers  now  contin 
ually  crossing  the  ocean  and  the  few  accidents  which 
ever  occur.  The  real  danger  of  the  passage  is  in  the 
increasing  demand  for  speed,  and  it  is  one  which  is 
becoming  less  heeded  every  day ;  each  company  is 
bound  to  outbid  the  other,  and  so  the  steamer  races 
on  in  spite  of  icebergs,  storm,  or  fog,  and  runs  a  hun 
dred  unnecessary  risks  to  make  "  the  fastest  voyage 
on  record."  It  is  a  great  temptation  in  this  restless, 
hurrying  age,  but  it  may  be  bought  at  too  high  a 
price,  and  I  confess  it  was  some  comfort  to  feel,  on 
my  last  homeward  voyage,  that  I  was  on  board  a  safe 
if  slow  Cunarder,  and  in  the  care  of  the  company  which 
can  still  boast  of  never  having  lost  a  single  ship. 


FAREWELL.  399 

Although  the  Scythia  made  a  very  early  start 
on  her  homeward  voyage  last  April,  as  she  slowly 
moved  out  of  the  New  York  docks,  a  kind  group  of 
friends  waved  a  last  farewell  from  the  shore.  I  felt 
a  regret  far  too  deep  for  words,  as  I  began  to  realize 
that  I  had  now  paid  my  final  visit  to  America.  It  is 
indeed  a  country  with  a  marvellous  future  before  it, 
and  if  some  of  its  efforts  had  hitherto  lacked  finish, 
they  have  always  indicated  abundant  force  and  origi 
nality.  "  It  has  been  the  home  of  the  poor  and  the 
eccentric  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  has  carried 
their  poverty  and  passions  on  its  stalwart  young 
shoulders/'  as  a  distinguished  American  woman  once 
remarked  to  me,  adding,  "  now  that  you  have  visited 
us  you  will  understand  this,  and  be  interested  in  see 
ing  how  this  gigantic  humanitarian  scheme  is  carried  on 
— how  the  strength  which  elsewhere  broods,  or  is  ex 
pended  in  blows,  here  builds  our  railroads,  tunnels 
our  mountains,  and  breaks  glass  and  crockery  at  a 
fearful  rate  in  our  kitchens.  Never  mind,"  she  con 
tinued,  smiling,  "the  individual  suffers,  but  humanity 
survives." 

I  have,  indeed,  had  an  opportunity  granted  to  few, 
of  seeing  our  American  cousins  as  they  really  are — 
not  as  they  are  supposed  to  be !  Every  facility  was 
afforded  me  for  visiting  all  the  public  institutions, 
the  methods  of  the  public  schools  and  colleges  were 
duly  explained  to  me  by  the  leading  authorities,  the 
factories  and  workshops  were  thrown  open  to  me. 
Personal  interviews  were  accorded  by  most  of  the 
eminent  public  characters,  including  the  President, 
senators,  journalists,  college  professors,  and  artists, 
and  I  was  cordially  welcomed  into  the  homes  of  the 


4OO  THREE    VISITS    TO    AMERICA. 

people,  who  extended  to  me  a  hospitality  as  universal 
as  it  was  hearty,  thus  enabling  me  to  form  personal 
friendships  with  kindred  spirits  in  every  city  I  stayed 
in — friendships  which  I  trust  neither  time  nor  dis 
tance  will  sever. 

I  leave  other  writers  to  make  merry  over  "  Yankee 
smartness  and  Yankee  accent,"  and  the  numerous 
shortcomings  which  passing  travellers  can  easily  de 
tect  in  every  strange  place  they  visit  ;  they  may  re 
gard  America  as  a  land  given  over  to  political  cor 
ruption,  bowie-knives,  and  shoddy,  if  they  will.  I 
must  record  the  kindness  which  brought  me  into 
contact  with  all  that  was  noblest  and  best,  enabling 
me  to  recognize  in  many  American  institutions  the 
very  embodiment  of  human  progress  and  aspiration, 
and  my  heart  and  brain  were  alike  refreshed  by  com 
munion  with  cultured  and  refined  men  and  women, 
who  taught  me  to  understand  and  appreciate  the 
spirit  which  really  animates  this  great  country,  justly 
described  by  one  of  her  own  gifted  poets,  as 

"  She  that  lifts  up  the  manhood  of  the  poor, 
She  of  the  open  heart  and  open  door, 
With  room  about  her  knees  for  all  mankind." 


THE    MAN   WONDERFUL 

IN 

THE  HOUSE  BEAUTIFUL. 

AN   AULEGORY. 

TEACHING    THE    PRINCIPLES    OF    PHYSIOLOGY   AND    HYGIENE,   AND   THE    EFFECTS 
OF  STIMULANTS   AND  NARCOTICS. 


Also  adapted  as  a  Reader  for  High  Schools,  and  as  a  Text-book 
for  Grammar,  Intermediate,  and  District  Schools. 

BY  CHILION  B.  ALLEN,  A.M.,  LL.B.,  M.D.,  AND  MARY  A.  ALLEN,  A.B.,  M.D. 
Fully  Illustrated,  Extra  Cloth,  1  >mo,  Price  $1.50. 


A  work  almost  as  wonderful  as  the  subject  of  which  it  treats.  The  motive  is  to  teach 
that  the  most  beautiful,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  wonderful  thing  in  nature 
is  man  ;  and  no  one  can  read  these  chapters  without  feeling  that  the  authors  have  ac 
complished  their  task. 

The  book  is  an  allegory  in  which  the  body  is  the  "House  Beautiful," 
and  its  inhabitant  the  *'  iff  sin  \VoaMlerfiil."  The  building  of  the  house  is 
shown  from  foundation  to  roof,  and  then  we  are  taken  through  the  different  rooms, 
and  their  wonders  and  beauties  displayed  to  us,  and  all  this  time  we  are  being  taught 
—  almost  without  knowing  it  —  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Hygiene,  with  practical  ap 
plications  and  suggestions. 

We  are  then  introduced  to  the  inhabitant  of  the  house,  "  THE  MAN  WONDERFUL," 
and  learn  of  his  growth,  development,  and  habits.  We  also  become  acquainted  with 
the  guests  whom  he  entertains,  and  find  that  some  of  them  are  doubtful  acquaint 
ances,  some  bad,  and  some  decidedly  wicked,  while  others  are  very  good  company. 
Under  this  form  we  learn  of  food,  drink,  and  the  effects  of  narcotics  and  stimulants. 

The  Table  of  Contents  by  Chapters  has  these  striking  subjects: 

The  "  Foundations,"  which  are  the  bones.  The  "  Walls  "  are  the  muscles,  while  the 
skin  and  hair  are  called  the  "  Siding  and  Shingles."  The  head  is  an  "Observatory," 
in  which  are  found  a  pair  of  "  Telescopes,  "and  radiating  from  it  are  the  nerves  com 
pared  to  a  "  Telegraph  "  and  "  Phonograph."  The  communications  are  kept  up  with 
the  "Kitchen,"  "  Dining-Room,"  "Butler's  Pantry,"  "Laundry,"  and  "Engine." 
The  house  is  heated  by  a  "  Furnace,"  which  is  also  a  "  Sugar  Manufactory."  Nor  is 
the  house  without  mystery,  for  it  contains  a  number  of  "Mysterious  Chambers."  It 
is  protected  by  a  wonderful  "  Burglar  Alarm,"  and  watched  over  by  various  "  Guard 
ians."  A  pair  of  charming  "Windows"  adorn  the  "Facade,"  and  a  "Whispering 
Gallery"  offers  a  delightful  labyrinth  for  our  wanderings. 

In  fact,  the  book  is  more  wonderful  than  a  fairy  tale,  more  intensely  interesting 
than  a  romance,  and  more  replete  with  valuable  truths  than  any  book  of  the  present 
day. 

The  authors  —  husband  and  wife  —  are  both  regular  physicians,  and  besides  gradu 
ating  in  the  best  schools  of  America,  spent  three  years  under  the  best  instructors  in 
Vienna,  Paris,  and  London. 

They  have  been  teachers  and  know  what  will  aid  both  teacher  and  scholar, 
and  have  kept  in  mind  the  fact  that  many  teachers  will  be  called  upon  to  teach 
these  subjects  who  will  feel  the  need  of  aids,  which  they  will  find  in  the  questions, 
which  are  so  arranged  with  exponents  in  the  text  that  the  lessons  are  easily  compre 
hended. 

The  book  will  be  sent  by  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price,  $1.50.  Agents  wanted, 
to  whom  special  terms  will  be  given.  Address 

FOWLER  &  WELLS  CO.,   Publishers, 


FOR 


wn> 


A  Manual  of  Hygiene  for  Woman  and  the  Household.     By 
Mrs.  E.  G.  COOK,  M.D.     i2mo,  extra  cloth.     Price,  $1.50. 

This  work  is  written  from  an  experience  and  large  observation  ex 
tending  over  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It  will,  to  many  who  study  its 
contents,  lighten  the  hearts  made  h^avy  and  sad  by  years  of  suffer 
ing  which  1ms  come  from  ignorance  of  physical  laws.  The  work 
opens  with  a  chapter  on  the  importance  of  physical  culture,  and 
graphic  pictures  are  drawn  of  the  girls  of  the  old  New  England  times 
and  those  of  the  fashionable  society  girls  of  to-day.  The  chapter  on 
bones  is  full  of  suggestions  in  making  a  strong  frame-work  for  the 
muscles  to  clothe,  and  the  education  of  the  muscles  considered  of 
greater  importance  (with  aids  to  its  accomplishment)  than  many  of 
the  so-called  "  fine  arts,"  now  held  to  be,  by  many  of  our  schools,  of 
more  importance.  Great  stress  is  laid  upon  the  need  of  selecting 
studies  in  educating  girls  as  well  as  boys,  with  a  view  to  their  uses  in 
after-life,  remembering  that  what  is  not  put  into  daily  practice  is 
soon  lost,  and  instead  of  perfecting  the  education  in  these  directions, 
time  and  money,  and  shall  we  add  health  also,  are  sacrificed.  The 
chapters  on  the  brain  and  nervous  system,  the  structure  and  care  of 
the  skin,  hygiene  and  ventilation,  are  what  every  one  in  the  house 
hold  should  read,  as  they  are  made  so  plain  in  the  simple  style  of 
the  author,  that  children  can  readily  comprehend  them.  If  the 
knowledge  which  the  chapter  on  bread  and  butter  sets  forth  was  used, 
no  one  could  have  dyspepsia. 

The  special  knowledge  which  is  given  to  women  in  order  that  they 
may  understand  the  various  displacements  of  the  uterus  and  its  dis 
eases,  will  bring  long-sought  help  to  multitudes  who  shall  study  and 
practice  the  teachings  given  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  them.  The 
feeding  of  children  ;  the  rights  of  children,  and  the  evils  of  a  forced 
education  are  all  discussed  ;  and  the  work  is  fully  illustrated  with 
fine  engravings.  It  is  safe  to  predict  a  great  change  in  the  physical 
well-being  of  all  in  the  hear  future,  if  this  book  can  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  mothers  and  daughters  in  the  land.  The  times  are  ripe 
and  ready  for  the  knowledge  which  it  contains.  It  is  handsomely 
bound,  contains  over  300  pages,  and  would  be  a  richer  gift  to  either 
wife  or  daughter  than  gold  or  diamonds.  Sent  by  mail,  on  receipt 
of  price,  $1.50.  AGENTS  WANTED.  Address 

FOWLER  &  WELLS  CO.,  Publishers, 
753  Broadway,  Xew  York. 


FOR  GIRLS.     A  SPECIAL  PHYSIOLOGY;   or,  SUP 

PLEMENT  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  GENERAL    PHYSIOLOGY.      By  Mrs 

E.  R.  SHEPHERD.     12010,  extra  cloth,  price,  $1.00. 

Tht  following  notices  of  this  work  are  from  Representative  />«»//*,  and  are  n 

sufficient  guarantee  as  to  its  nature  and  value 

"Jennie  June"  says:  NEW  YORK,  August  8,  1882. 

GENTLEMEN :— I  have  read  "  For  Girls"  with  care,  and  feel  personally  obliged  tc 
the  author  for  writing  a  book  that  is  very  much  needed,  and  that  mothers  not  only 
can,  but  ought  to  place  in  the  hands  of  their  daughters.  Mrs.  Shepherd  has  executed 
K  difficult  task  with  judgment  and  discretion.  She  has  said  many  things  which  mothers 
find  it  difficult  to  say  to  their  daughters,  unless  forced  by  some  act  or  circumstances, 
which  alas,  may  prove  their  warning  comes  too  late.  "  For  Girls"  is  free  from  th« 
vices  of  most  works  of  its  kind,  it  is  neither  preachy  nor  didactic.  It  talks  freely  and 
familiarly  with  those  it  is  written  to  benefit,  and  some  of  its  counsels  would  be  as  well 
heeded  by  our  boys,  as  our  girls.  Respectfully  yours, 

Mrs.  J.  C.  CROLY. 

Mrs.  Caroline  B.  Winslow,  M.D.,  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  in  an  editorial  in  the 
Alpha*  says  :  "  It  is  a  book  we  most  heartily  and  unreservedly  recommend  to  parents, 
guardians,  and  friends  of  young  girls  to  put  in  the  hands  of  their  daughters  and  their 
wards.  It  fully  supplies  a  long  existing  need,  and  completes  the  instruction  ordinarily 
given  in  physiology  in  our  high-schools  and  seminaries.  This  book  is  rendered 
more  valuable  and  important,  as  it  treats  with  perfect  freedom,  and  in  a  wise, 
chaste,  and  dignified  manner,  subjects  that  are  entirely  neglected  by  most  teachers  ol 

popular  physiology None  but  a  woman  with  a  crystalline  intellect,  and  a  pure 

toying  heart,  could  have  written  this  clean,  thoughtful,  and  simply  scientific  description 
of  our  sexual  system,  and  our  moral  obligation  to  study  it  thoroughly,  and  guard  it 
from  any  impurity  of  thought  or  act,  from  injury  through  ignorance,  abuse,  or  misuse. 
It  has  won  our  entire  and  hearty  approval,  and  enlists  us  as  a  champion  and  friend, 
to  do  all  in  our  power  for  its  sale,  not  for  the  pecuniary  compensation  of  its  author,  but 
more  for  the  lasting  good  of  our  girls,  who  are  to  be  the  teachers,  wives,  mothers,  and 
leaders,  after  we  have  laid  aside  our  armor  and  have  entered  into  rest." 

Drs.  S.  W.  &  Mary  Dodds,  physicians,  with  a  large  practice  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  say  : 
"The  book  '  For  Gi'ds,'  which  we  have  carefully  examined,  is  a  valuable  work,  much 
needed,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  daughters  or  their  mothers  would  be  most 
benefited  by  a  perusal  of  it.  You  will  no  doubt  find  ready  sale  for  it,  all  the  more,  as 
there  is  hardly  another  book  yet  published  that  would  take  the  place  of  it." 

Mary  Jewett  Telford,  of  Denver,  Colorado,  says:  "Mrs.  Shepherd  has  earned  the 
title  of  'apostle  to  the  girls.'  No  careful  mother  need  hesitate  to  place  this  little  book 
in  her  daughter's  hands,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  she  will  herself  learn  some  help 
ful  lessons  by  reading  it.  While  there  is  no  attempt  made  to  solve  all  the  mysteries 
of  being,  what  every  girl  ought  to  know  of  her  own  organism,  and  the  care  of  what  i* 
so  'fearfully  and  wonderfully  made,'  is  here  treated  in  a  manner  at  once  practical, 
modest,  sensible,  and  reverent." 

The  Phrenological  Journal  says  :  "  A  book  designed  for  girls  should  be  written  by 
a  woman  to  be  perfect ;  it  being  understood  as  a  matter  of  course  that  she  possesses  * 
thorough  familiarity  with  the  subject  she  discusses.  The  author  of  this  book  indicate* 
an  unusual  acquaintance  with  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  feminine  organiza 
tion,  also  a  ready  acquaintance  with  the  other  phases  of  social  relationship  belonging 
to  woman  in  her  every-day  life  ;  with  a  more  than  common  discrimination  in  gleaninf 
just  such  material  from  general  professional  experience  as  is  best  adapted  to  ner  pur 
poses.  The  style  of  the  book  is  clear,  simply  colloquial,  and  has  nothing  garish, 
prudish,  or  morbid  about  it.  It  is  bright  without  being  flippant  in  thought,  agreeable 
reading  without  awakening  anything  of  the  sensual  or  exciting.  It  concerns  the  health 
fulness  and  the  well-being  of  the  girls  whoaresoon  to  become  wives  and  mothers  of  the 
world.  There  is  no  doubt  but  what  many  of  the  seeds  of  diseases  in  women  are  soweQ 
in  girlhood,  and  therefore  this  book  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  every  youn<j 
man,  and  of  every  mother  of  a  daughter  in  the  land." 


Dr. 


WORKS. 


A  BAOMlLOM'i  TALKS 

ABOUT  MARRIED  LIFE  AND  THINGS  ADJACENT.  By  Rev.  WILLIAM  AIK- 
MAN,  D.D.,  author  of  "Life  at  Home."  I2mo,  handsomely  bound. 
$1.50;  full  gilt,  $2.00. 

This  new  work  is  likely  to  prove  one  of  the  most  popular  books  pub 
lished  on  the  subject  of  the  home  relation  in  many  years.  Written  from  a 
stand-point  outside  of  family  life,  it  is  full  of  sharp,  practical  suggestions, 
which  will  be  enjoyed  wherever  read,  and  by  all  classes. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  character  of  the  work,  we  publish  the  following 
from  the 


My  Brother's  Parlor;  Homes;  A  Home 
not  like  Heaven ;  The  Newly  Married  ;  After 
the  Honeymoon;  A  Young  WifeVTroubles; 
The  Clouds  Gone  ;  Frank  Holman's  New 
Home  ;  Mrs.  Frank  Holman's  Housekeep 
ing  ;  Mrs.  Holman's  Baby  ;  Obedient  Babies; 
The'  Dead  Babe ;  About  the  Baby  Gone; 
The  Inner  Shrine;  Taking  and  not  Giving  ; 
Politeness  in  the  Home;  I "eproduced  Char 
acteristics  :  Justice  to  Children  ;  Promises  to 
Children  Broken;  "A  Horse,  Sir,  is  like  a 


Child";  Mr.  Frownell's  Boys;  In  the  Coun 
try  with  the  Boys;  On  Politeness  to  the 
Boys;  "If  we  had  only  Known";  On  Say 
ing  il  No  "  to  Children;  Children's  "Blues  "; 
Bossing  it;  Questionable  Books;  The  Young 
est  Boy  ;  Teasing ;  Sabbath  the  Working- 
man's  Day  ;  Family  Birthdays  ;  The  Aged  in 
the  House  ;  The  Sin  Returned  ;  Grandparents 
on  the  Battle-Field;  Responsibility  put  on 
the  Inexperienced  ;  Little  Courtesies  ;  'J  he 
Golden  Wedding. 


LIFE    AT    HOME; 

OR,  THE  FAMILY  AND  ITS  MEMBERS.  Including  Husbands  and  Wives, 
Parents,  Children,  Brothers,  Sisters,  Employers  and  Employed,  the 
Altar  in  the  House,  etc.  By  Rev.  WM.  AIKMAN,  D.D.  Extra  muslin, 
uniform  with  "  Bachelor's  Talks."  Price  $1.50  ;  extra  gilt,  $2.00. 

It  is  seldom  that  a  book  is  published  which  receives  such  universal  com 
tnendation  from  the  press — both  religious  and  secular— as  this,  as  the  fol 
lowing  brief  extracts  will  indicate. 

NOTICES    OF    THE    PRESS. 


4  An  admirable  book.  We  would  have  a 
copy  in  every  house." — New  York  Observer. 

"  This  is  a  book  full  of  hearty  good  sense. 
Fvery  husband  who  reads  it  will  he  a  better 
husband,  and  every  wife  will  draw  from  it 
strength  to  make  home  more  pleasant."  — 
Prairie  Farmer. 

''A  beautiful  spirit  of  Christian  love  and 
tenderness  pervades  the  whole  woik,  and 
none,  we  think,  can  read  it  without  being 
better  for  the  perusal/" — New  York  Times. 

"  The  views  of  Dr.  Aikman  are  sound  and 


true.  clea<ly  stated  and  eloquently  enforced." 
— Philadelphia  Age. 

"  Dr.  Aikman's  book  is  full  of  sensible  sug 
gestions,  the  general  adoption  of  wliich  would 
add  immensely  to  the  happiness  of  .society 
and  the  promotion  of  all  that  is  noble  and 
good  among  men." — P/tila.  S.  S.  Ti, tie's. 

"  k  Life  at  Home'  is  an  eminently  sensible 
and  practicable  talk  about  the  family  and  its 
relations,  and  how  to  keep  them  pure  and 
pleasant.  A  sensible  and  useful  book,  and 
one  which,  we  trust,  will  find  many  to  read, 
to  ponder,  and  to  give  heed  to  its  sugges 
tions." —  Brooklyn  Union. 


No  more  appropriate  or  useful  gift  could  be  made  to  a  newly-munied 
pair,  or  to  a  young  household.     Sent,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price, 

By  mail,  post-paid,  on  receipt  of  price.     Address 

FOWLER  &  WELLS  CO.,  Publisfors,  753  Broadway,  N.  Y 


IT  IB  AN  ILLUSTRATED  CYCLOPEDIA," 


Previous  Systems  given,  Including 
tlioee  of  all  ancient  and  modern  writers. 

General  Principles  of  Physiognomy, 
<w  the  Physiological  laws  on  which  charac 
ter-reading  is  and  must  be  based. 

Temperaments.  —  The  Ancient  Doc 
trine*  —  Spurzhcim's  Description  —  The 
New  Classification  now  in  use  here. 

Practical  Physiognomy.  —  General 
Forms  of  Faces— The  Eyes,  the  Mouth, 
the  Noee.  the  Chin,  the  Jaws  and  Teeth. 
the  Cheeks,  the  Forehead,  the  Hair  anc 
Beard,  the  Complexion,  the  Neck  and 
Bare,  the  Hands  and  Feet,  the  Voice,  the 
Walk,  the  Laugh,  the  Mode  of  Shaking 
Hands,  Dress,  etc.,  with  illustrations. 

Ethnology  .—The  Races,  Including  the 
Caucasian,  the  North  American  Indians, 
the  Mongolian,  the  Malay,  and  the  African, 
with  their  numerous  subdivisions :  also 
Nationa1  Tvues.  each  illustrated. 


Improvement,  to  Business,  to  Insanity  and 
Idiocy,  to  Health  and  Disease,  to  Classes 
and  Professions,  to  Personal  Improvement, 
and  to  Character-Reading:  generally.  Util 
ity  G/  Physiognomy,  Self -Improvement. 

Animal  Type*.  —  Gr&des  of  Intelli 
gence,  Instinct  and  Reason  —  Animal 
Heads  and  Animal  Types  among  Men. 

Graphomancy, — Character  revealed  in 
Hand-writing,  witn  Specimens— Palmistry. 
"  Line  of  Life"  in  the  human  hand. 

Character-Heading.—  More  than  a 
hundred  noted  Men  and  Women  introduc 
ed — What  Physiognomy  says  of  them. 

The  Great  Secret.— How  to  be  Healthy 
and  How  to  be  Beautiful-  Mental  Cosmet 
ics—very  interesting,  very  useful. 

Aristotto  and  St.  Ptul A  Model 

Head— Views  of  Life  —  Illustrative  Anec 
dotes— Detecting  a  Rogue  by  his  Face. 


No  oi*e  ran  read  this  Book  without  interest,  without  real  profit.  "  Knowledge  \M 
powt?,"  and  this  ia  emphatically  true  of  a  knowledge  of  men — of  human  character.  He 
who  hae  it  is  "  maeter  of  the  situation  ;"  and  anybody  may  have  it  who  will,  and  find  in 
It  the  w  secret  of  success"  and  the  road  to  the  largest  personal  improvement. 

Price,  in  cne  large  Volume,  of  nearly  800  pages,  and  more  than  1,000  engravings,  on 
loQed  y*per,  handsomely  bound  in  embossed  muslin,  $5 ;  in  heavy  calf,  marbl«*a  edges, 
|8;  Tui  ?oy  uorocco.  full  gilt.  $10.  Agents  may  do  well  to  canvass  for  this  work.  Free 
by  poet  Taase  address,  FOWLER  &  WEI.LS  Co  ,  753  Broadway,  New  York. 


As  manifested  in  Temperament  and  External  Forms,  and  especially   ! 
In  the  Human  Face   Divine. 

BY  R.   R.  WELLS,  EDITOR  PHRENOLOGICAL  JOURNAL* 

Large  12mo,  763  pp,    With  more  than  1,000  Engravings. 

lUuatrating  Physiognomy,  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Ethnology, 
ogy,  and  Natural  History, 


A  COMPREHENSIVE,  thorough,  and  practical  Work,  in  which  all  that  is 
•^  Known  on  the  subject  treated  is  Systematized,  Explained,  Illustrated,  and  Applied. 
Physiognomy  is  here  shown  to  be  no  mere  fanciful  speculation,  but  a  consistent  and  well- 
conaidnred  system  of  Character-reading,  based  on  the  established  truths  of  Physiology 
and  Phrenology,  and  confirmed  by  Ethnology,  as  well  as  by  the  peculiarities  of  individ- 
uftle.  It  in  no  abstraction,  but  something  to  be  made  useful ;  something  to  be  practiced 
by  everybody  and  in  all  places,  and  made  an  efficient  help  in  that  noblest  of  all  studies— 
the  Study  of  Man.  It  is  readily  understood  and  as  readily  applied.  The  following  are 
some  of  the  leading  topics  discussed  and  explained  in  this  great  illustrated  work : 

Physiognomy  Applied — To  Marriage, 
to  the  Training  of  Children,  to  Persona. 


BRJLIIST  and 

OR, 

MENTAL    SCIENCE    CONSIDERED    IN    ACCORDANCE 
WITH    THE    PRINCIPLES   OF    PHRENOLOGY, 

AND 

IN  RELATION   TO   MODERN   PHYSIOLOGY. 

By  HENRY  S.  DRAYTON,  A.M.,M.D.,  and  JAMES  MCNEILL,  A.B.    Illustra 
ted  with  over  100  Portraits  and  Diagrams.    I2mo,  extra  cloth,  $1.50. 

This  contribution  to  the  science  of  mind  has  been  made  in  response  to  the  demand 
of  the  time  for  a  work  embodying  the  grand  principles  of  Phrenology,  as  they  are 
understood  and  applied  to-day  by  the  advanced  exponents  of  mental  philosophy,  who 
accept  the  doctrine  taught  by  Gall,  Spurzheim,  and  Combe. 

The  following,  from  the  Table  of  Contents,  shows  the  scops  of  the  work : 

General  Principles;  Of  the  Temperaments  ;  Structure  of  the  Brain  and  Skull; 
Classification  of  the  Faculties  ;  The  Selfish  Organs  ;  The  Intellect ;  The 
Semi-Intellectual  Faculties  ;  The  Organs  of  the  Social  Functions  ;  The 
Selfish  Sentiments  ;  The  Moral  and  Religious  Sentiments  ;  How  to  Ex 
amine  Heads  ;  How  Character  is  Manifested  ;  The  Action  of  the  Facul 
ties  ;  The  Relation  of  Phrenology  to  Metaphysics  and  Education  ;  Value 
of  Phrenology  as  an  Art ;  Phrenology  and  Physiology  ;  Objections  and 
Confirmations  by  the  Physiologists  ;  Phrenology  in  General  Literature. 


NOTICES    09P 

"  Phrenology  is  no  longer  a  thing  laugh 
ed  at.  The  scientific  researches  of  the 
last  twenty  years  have  demonstrated  the 
fearful  and  wonderful  complication  of 
matter,  not  only  with  mind,  but  with 
what  we  call  moral  qualities.  Thereby, 
we  believe,  the  divine  origin  of  'our 
frame'  has  been  newly  illustrated,  and 
the  Scriptural  psychology  confirmed  ;  and 
in  the  Phrenological  Chart  we  are  dispos 
ed  to  find  a  species  of  'urim  and  thum- 
mim,'  revealing,  if  not  the  Creator's  will 
concerning  us,  at  least  His  revelation  of 
essential  character.  The. above  work  is, 
without  doubt,  the  best  popular  presenta 
tion  of  the  science  which  has  yet  been 
made.  It  confines  itself  strictly  to  facts, 
and  is  not  written  in  the  interest  of  any 
pet  '  theory.'  It  is  made  very  interesting 
by  its  copious  illustrations,  pictorial  and 
narrative,  and  the  whole  is  brought  down 
to  the  latest  information  on  this  curious 
and  suggestive  department  of  knowl 
edge." — Christian  Intelligencer,  N.  Y. 


T3BEE    3P3R.3ESS. 

"Whether  a  reader  be  inclined  to  be 
lieve  Phrenology  or  not,  he  must  find  the 
volume  a  mine  of  interest,  gather  many 
suggestions  of  the  highest  value,  and  rise 
from  its  perusal  with  clearer  views  of  the 
nature  of  mind  and  the  responsibilities  of 
human  life.  The  work  constitutes  a  com 
plete  text-book  on  the  subject." — Presby 
terian  Journal,  Philadelphia. 

"In  '  Brain  and  Mind  '  the  reader  will 
find  the  fundamental  ideas  on  which  Phre 
nology  rests  fully  set  forth  and  analyzed, 
and  the  science  clearly  and  practically 
treated.  It  is  not  at  all  necessary  for  the 
reader  to  be  a  believer  in  the  science  to 
enjoy  the  study  of  the  latest  exposition  of 
its  methods.  The  literature  of  the  science 
is  extensive,  but  so  far  as  we  know  there 
is  no  one  book  which  so  comprehensively 
as  '  Brain  and  Mind  '  defines  its  limits  and 
treats  of  its  principles  so  thoroughly,  not 
alone  philosophically,  but  also  in  their 
practical  relation  to  the  everyday  life  of 
man." — Cal.  Advertiser. 


In  style  and  treatment  it  is  adapted  to  the  general  reader,  abounds  with  valuable  in 
struction  expressed  in  clear,  practical  terms,  and  the  work  constitutes  by  far  the  best 
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Six  Lectures  on  the  Philosophy  of 
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Dject. 

The  Library  of  Mesmerism  and 
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Truths.— The  Philosophy  of  Electrical 
Psychology  ;  the  Doctrine  of  Impressions  ; 
including  the  connection  between  Mind 
and  Matter ;  also,  the  Treatment  of  Dis 
eases. — Psychology  ;  or,  the  Science  of  the 
Soul,  considered  Physiologically  and  Philo 
sophically  ;  with  an  Appendix  containing 
Notes  of  Mesmeric  and  Psychical  experi 
ence,  and  illustrations  of  the  Brain  and 
Nervous  System,  i  vol.  $3.50. 

How  to  Magnetize  ;  or,  Magnetism 
AND  CLAIRVOYANCE. — A  Practical  Treat 
ise  on  the  Choice,  Management  and 
Capabilities  of  Subjects,  with  Instructions 
on  the  Method  of  Procedure.  By  JAMES 
VICTOR  WILSON.  i8mo,  paper,  35  cts. 

The  Key  to  Ghostism.  By  Rev, 
THOMAS  MITCHEL.  $1.50. 

It  WELLS  Co.,  753  Broadway \  Wow  York. 


HEALTH  BOOKS. 

This  List  comprises  the  Best  Works  on  Hygiene,  Health,  Etc. 
Combe  (Andrew,  M.D.) — Principles  i  Horses :  THEIR  FEED  AND  THEIR  FEET. 


applied  to  the  Preservation  of  Health  and 
to  the  Improvement  of  Physical  and 
Mental  Education.  Illustrated.  Cloth. 
$1.50. 

Management  of  Infancy,  Physi 
ological  and   Moral  Treatment.      With 


Notes 
$1.25. 


and    a    Supplementary  Chapter, 


— A  Manual  of  Horse  Hygiene.  Invaluable 
to  the  veteran  or  the  novice,  pointing  out 
the  true  sources  of  disease,  and  how  to  pre- 
yent  and  counteract  them.  By  C.  E. 
PAGE,  M.D.  Paper  50  cts.,  cloth  75  cts. 

The  Diet  Question. — Giving  the 
Reason  Why,  from  "  Health  in  the  House 
hold,"  by  Mrs.  S.  W.  DODDS,  M.D.  xoc. 

The  Health  Miscellany.     An  impor 


tant  Collection  of  Health  Papers.    Nearly 

Dodds  (Susanna  W.,  M.D.)— Health 

IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD  ;  or,  Hygienic  Cook-  Gully    (J.   M.,    M.D.)    and    Wilson 

GAMES,    M.  D.)— PRACTICE     OF 
WATER-CURE,  with  Authenticated 


ery.     izmo,  extra  cloth,  $2.00. 

Fairchild  (M.  Augusta,  M.D.)— How 
TO  BE  WELL;  or,  Common-Sense  Med 
ical  Hygiene.  A  book  for  the  People, 
giving  Directions  for  the  Treatment  and 
Cure  of  Acute  Diseases  without  the  use  of 
Drug  Medicines ;  also,  General  Hints  on 
'Health.  $1.00. 

Graham  (Sylvester).—  Science  of 
HUMAN  LIFE,  LECTURES  ON  THE.  With 
a  copious  Index  and  Biographical  Sketch 
of  the  Author.  Illustrated,  $3.00. 

Chastity.  —  Lectures     to     Young 

Men.  Intended  also  for  the  Serious  Con 
sideration  of  Parents  and  Guardians. 
i2mo.  Paper,  50  cents. 

Gully  (J.  M.,  M.D.)  — Water-Cure 
IN  CHRONIC  DISEASES.  An  Exposition 
of  the  Causes,  Progress,  and  Termination 
of  various  Chronic  Diseases  of  the  Di 
gestive  Organs,  Lungs,  Nerves,  Limbs, 
and  Skin,  and  of  their  Treatment  by 
Water  and  other  Hygienic  means.  $1.50. 

For  Girls ;  A  Special  Physiology,  or 
Supplement  to  the  Study  of  General  Phy 
siology.  By  Mrs.  E.  R.  Shepherd.  $1.00. 
Page  (C.  E.,  M.D.)--How  to  Feed 
the  Baby  to  make  her  Healthy  and  Hap 
py.  i2mo.  Third  edition,  revised  and 
enlarged.  Paper,  50  cents;  extra  cloth, 
75  cents. 

This  is  the  most  important  work  ever  publish 
ed  on  the  subject  of  infant  dietetics. 

The  Natural  Cure  of  Consump- 

TION,  Constipation,  Blight's  Disease,  Neu 
ralgia,  Rheumatism,  "Colds"  (Fevers), 
etc.  How  thes.e  Disorders  Originate,  and 
How  to  Prevent  Them,  izmo,  cloth,  $1.00. 


THE 

Evi 
dence  of  its  Efficacy  and  Safety.  Con 
taining  a  Detailed  Account  of  the  various 
Processes  used  in  the  Water  Treatment, 
a  Sketch  of  the  History  and  Progress  of 
the  Water-Cure.  50  cents. 

Jacques  (D.  H.,  M.D.}— The  Tem- 

PERAMENTS;  or,  Varieties  of  Physical 
Constitution  in  Man,  considered  in  theh 
relation  to  Mental  Character  and  Practical 
Affairs  of  Life.  With  an  Introduction 
by  H.  S.  DRAYTON,  A.M.,  Editor  of  the 
Phrenological  Journal.  150  Portraits 
and  other  Illustrations.  $1.50. 

How    to    Grow    Handsome,    or 

Hints  toward  Physical  Perfection,  and 
the  Philosophy  of  Human  Beauty,  show 
ing  How  to  Acquire  and  Retain  Bodily 
Symmetry,  Health,  and  Vigor,  secure 
Long  Life,  and  Avoid  the  Infirmities  and 
Deformities  of  Age.  New  Edition.  $1.00. 

Johnson  (Edward,  M.D.) — Domes- 
Tic  PRACTICE  OF  HYDROPATHY,  with 
Fifteen  Engraved  Illustrations  of  impor 
tant  subjects,  from  Drawings  by  Dr.  How 
ard  Johnson.  $1.50. 

White  (Wm.,  M.D.)— Medical  Eleo 
TRICITY. — A  Manual  for  Students,  show 
ing  the  most  Scientific  and  Rational  Ap 
plication  to  all  forms  of  Diseases,  of  the 
different  Combinations  of  Electricity, 
Galvanism,  Electro-Magnetism,  Magneto- 
Electricity,  and  Human  Magnetism. 
iamo,  $1.50. 

Transmission  ;  or,  Variations  of  Char 
acter  Through  the  Mother.  By  GEORO 

IANA  B.  KlRBY.      25  CIS.,  doth,  50  CtS. 


Sent  t>y  Mail,  post-paid.         FOWLER  &  WELL*:  Co.,  753  Broadway,  N.Y. 


WORKS    ON    HEALTH    AND    HYGIENE. 


The  Man  Wonderful  in  the  House 

BEAUTIFUL.  An  Allegory.  Teaching 
the  Principles  of  Physiology  and  Hygi 
ene,  and  the  Effects  of  Stimulants  and 
Narcotics.  By  Drs.  C.  B.  and  Mary  A. 
Allen.  $1.50. 

Smoking  and  Drinking.  By  JAMES 
PARTON.  50  cents  ;  cloth,  75  cents. 

The  Diseases  of  Modern  Life.  By 
B.  W.  Richardson,  M.D.  Ex.  clo.,  $1.50. 

The  Parents'  Guide  ;  or,  Human  De 
velopment  through  Pre-Natal  Influences 
and  Inherited  Tendencies.  $1.25. 

Pereira  (J.,    M.D.,    F.R.S.)— FOOD 

AND  DIET.  With  observations  on  the"  Di- 
etetical  Regimen,  suited  for  Disordered 
States  of  the  Digestive  Organs.  $1.50. 
Controlling  Sex  in  Generation  :  A 
Treatise  on  the  Laws  Determining  Sex, 
and  their  Government  to  Produce  Male 
or  Female  Offspring  at  Will.  By  Sam 
uel  H.  Terry.  Cloth.  $1.00. 

Shew  (Joel,  M.D.)— The  Family 
PHYSICIAN.— A  Ready  Prescriber  and 
Hygienic  Adviser.  With  Reference  to 
the  Nature,  Causes,  Prevention,  and 
Treatment  of  Diseases,  Accidents,  and 
Casualties  of  every  kind.  With  a  Glossary 
and  copious  Index.  Illustrated  with  nearly 
Three  Hundred  Engravings.  $3.00. 

Letters  to  Women  on  Midwifery 

AND  DISEASES  OF  WOMEN. — A  Descrip 
tive  and  Practical  Work,  giving  Treat 
ment  in  Menstiuation  and  its  Disorders, 
Chlorosis,  Leucorrhea,  Fluor  Albus,  Pro 
lapsus  Uteri,  Hysteria,  Spinal  Diseases, 
and  other  weaknesses  of  Females,  Preg 
nancy  and  its  Diseases,  Abortion,  Uterine 
Hemorrhage,  and  the  General  Manage 
ment  of  Childbirth,  Nursing,  etc.  $1.50. 

Pregnancy  and  Childbirth,  with 

Cases  showing  the  remarkable  Effects  of 
Water  Treatment  in  Mitigating  the  Pains 
and  Perils  of  the  Parturient  State.  50  cts. 

Tobacco  :  its  Physical,  Intellectual, 

and  Moral  Effects  on  the  Human  System. 

By  Dr.  Alcott.    New  and  revised  ed.,  with 

notes  and  additions,  by  N.  Sizer.     25  cts. 

Sent  by  Mail,  post-paid.          FOWLER  & 


Shew  (Joel,  M.D.)— Children,  their 
Hydropathic  Management  in  Health  and 
Disease.  A  Descriptive  and  Practical 
Work,  designed  as  a  Guide  for  Families 
and  Physicians.  $1.50. 

Sober  and  Temperate  Life. — The 
Discourses  and  Letters  of  Louis  CORNARO 
on  a  Sober  and  Temperate  Life.  50  cts. 

Taylor  (G.   H.,  M.D.)— The  Move- 

MENT  CURE.  The  History  and  Philoso 
phy  of  this  System  of  Medical  Treatment, 
with  Examples  of  Single  Movements,  The 
Principles  of  Massage,  and  Directions  for 
their  Use  in  various  Forms  of  Chronic 
Diseases.  New  and  Enlarged  Ed.  $1.50. 

Massage.     Giving  the  Principles 

and  Directions  for  its  Application  in  all 
Forms  of  Chronic  Diseases.  i2mo,  $1.50. 

The  Science  of  a  New  Life.  By 
John  Cowan,  M.  D.  Extra  cloth,  $3.00. 

Mothers  and  Daughters. — A  Manual 
of  Hygiene  for  Women.  By  Mrs.  E.  G. 
Cook,  M.D.  $1.50. 

Philosophy  of  the  Water-Cure.  By 
John  Balbirnie,  M.D.  50  cents. 

Chronic  Diseases. — Especially  the 
Nervous  Diseases  of  Women.  25  cents. 

Consumption,  its  Prevention  and 
Cure  by  the  Movement  Cure.  25  cents. 

Notes  on  Beauty,  Vigor,  and  Devel- 
OPMENT  ;  or,  How  to  Acquire  Plumpness 
of  Form,  Strength  of  Limb,  and  Beauty 
of  Complexion,  Illustrated.  10  cents. 

Tea  and  Coffee.— Their  Physical, 
Intellectual,  and  Moral  Effects  on  the 
Human  System.  By  Dr.  Alcott.  New 
and  revised  edition,  with  notes  and  ad 
ditions  by  Nelson  Sizer.  25  cents. 

Heredity. — RESPONSIBILITY  AND  PAR- 
ENTAGE.  By  Rev.  S.  H.  Platt.  10  cts. 

Special  List. — We  have  in  addition 
to  the  above,  Private  Medical  Works  and 
Treatises.  This  Special  List  will  be  sent 
on  receipt  of  stamp. 

WELLS  Co.,  753  Broadway,  N.Y. 


WORKS  ON  HYGIENE  BY  R  T.  TRALL,  M.D. 


Hydiopathic  Encyclopedia. — A  Sys 
tem  of  Hydropathy  and  Hygiene.  Era- 
bracing  Outlines  of  Anatomy,  Illus'ed ; 
Physiology  of  the  Human  Body ;  Hygi 
enic  Agencies,  and  the  Preservation  of 
Health  ;  Dietetics  and  Hydropathic  Cook 
ery  ;  Theory  and  Practice  of  Water- Treat 
ment  ;  Special  Pathology  and  Hydro- 
Therapeutics,  including  the  Nature, 
Causes,  Symptoms,  and  Treatment  of  all 
known  Diseases  ;  Application  of  Hydrop 
athy  to  Midwifery  and  the  Nursery,  with 
nearly  One  Thousand  Pages,  including  a 
Glossary.  Designed  as  a  guide  to  Families 
and  Students.  With  numerous  Illus.  2 
vols.  in  one.  $4. 

Uterine  Diseases  &  Displacements. 
A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Various  Dis 
eases,  Malpositions,  and  Structural  De 
rangements  of  the  Uterus  and  its  Append 
ages.  Fifty-three  Colored  Plates.  $5. 

The  Hygienic  Hand-Book.— Intend 
ed  as  a  Practical  Guide  for  the  Sick- 
Room.  Arranged  alphabetically.  $1.50. 

Illustrated  Family  Gymnasium  — 
Containing  the  most  improved  methods 
of  applying  Gymnastic,  Calisthenic,  Kine- 
sipathic  and  Vocal  Exercises  to  the  Devel 
opment  of  the  Bodily  Organs,  the  invigor- 
ation  of  their  functions,  the  preservation 
of  Health,  and  the  Cure  of  Diseases  and 
Deformities.  With  illustrations.  $1.50. 

The  Hydropathic  Cook-Book,  with 
Recipes  for.  Cooking  on  Hygienic  Princi 
ples.  Containing  also,  a  Philosophical 
Exposition  of  the  Relations  of  Food  to 
Health ;  the  Chemical  Elements  and 
Proximate  Constitution  of  Alimentary 
Principles  •,  the  Nutritive  Properties  of 
all  kinds  of  Aliment*  ;  the  Relative  Value 
of  Vegetable  and  Animal  Substances ; 
the  Selection  and  Preservation  of  Dietetic 
Material,  etc.  $1.15. 

Fruits  and  Farinacea  the  Proper 
FOOD  OF  MAN.— Being  an  attempt  to 
prove  by  History,  Anatomy,  Physiology, 
and  Chemistry  that  the  Original,  Natural, 
and  Best  Diet  of  Man  is  derived  from  the 
Vegetable  Kingdom.  By  JOHN  SMITH, 
With  Notes  by  TRALL.  $1.50. 

Digestion  and  Dyspepsia. — A  Com 
plete  Explanation  of  the  Physiology  of 
the  Digestive  Processes,  with  the  Symp 
toms  and  Treatment  of  Dyspepsia  and 
other  Disorders.  Illustrated.  $1.00. 


The  Mother's  Hygienic  Hand-Book 
for  the  Normal  Development  and  Train 
ing  of  Women  and  Children,  and  the 
Treatment  of  their  Diseases.  $1.00. 

Popular  Physiology.  —  A  Familiar 
Exposition  of  the  Structures,  Functions, 
and  Relations  of  the  Human  System  and 
the  Preservation  of  Health.  $1.25. 

The  True  Temperance  Platform. — 

An  Exposition  of  the  Fallacy  of  Alcoholic 
Medication,  being  the  substance  of  ad 
dresses  delivered  in  the  Queen's  Concert 
Rooms,  London.  Paper,  50  cents. 

The  Alcoholic  Controversy. — A  Re 
view  of  the  Westminster  Review  on  the 
Physiological  Errors  of  Teetotalism.  50 c. 

The  Human  Voice. — Its  Anatomy, 
Physiology,  Pathology,  Therapeutics, 
and  Training,  with  Rules  of  Order  for 
Lyceums.  50  cents ;  cloth,  75  cents. 

The  True  Healing  Art ;  or,  Hygienic 
vs.  DRUG  MEDICATION.  An  Address 
delivered  before  the  Smithsonian  Institute, 
Washington,  D.  C.  Paper,  25  cents ; 
cloth,  50  cents. 

Water-Cure   for  the   Million.— The 

processes  of  Water-Cure  Explained,  Pop 
ular  Errors  Exposed,  Hygienic  and  Drug 
Medication  Contrasted.  Rules  for  Bath 
ing,  Dieting,  Exercising,  Recipes  for 
Cooking,  etc.,  etc.  Directions  for  Home 
Treatment.  Paper,  25  cts.  ;  cloth,  75  cts. 

Hygeian  Home  Cook-Book;  OR, 
HEALTHFUL  AND  PALATABLE  FOOD 
WITHOUT  CONDIMENTS.  A  Book  of 
Recipes.  Paper,  25  cts. ;  cloth,  50  cts. 

Accidents  and  Emergencies,  a  guide 
containing  Directions  for  the  Treatment 
in  Bleeding,  Cuts,  Sprains,  Ruptures, 
Dislocations,  Burns  and  Scalds,  Bites  of 
Mad  Dogs,  Choking,  Poisons,  Fits,  Sun 
strokes,  Drowning,  etc.  By  Alfred  Smee, 
with  Notes  and  additions  by  R.  T.  Trail, 
M.D.  New  and  revised  edition.  25  cts. 

Diseases  of  Throat  and  Lungs. — 
Including  Diphtheria  and  Proper  Treat 
ment.  25  cents. 

The  Bath. — Its  History  and  Uses  in 
Health  and  Disease.  Paper  25C.;  clo.,  SGC. 

A  Health  Catechism.— Questions 
and  Answers.  With  Illustrations.,  ic  cts. 


Sent  by  Mail,  post-paid.  FOWLER  &  WELLS  Co.,  753  Broadway,  N.  Y. 


MISCELLANEOUS     WORKS. 


Hand-books    for    Home     Improve- 

MENT  (EDUCATIONAL)  ;  comprising, 
"How  to  Write,"  "How  to  Talk," 
"How  to  Behave,"  and  "How  to  do 
Business."  One  i2mo  vol.,  $2.00. 

How  to  Write :  a  Pocket  Manual  of 
Composition  and  Letter- Writing.  75  cts. 

How  to  Talk:  a  Pocket  Manual  of 
Conversation  and  Debate,  with  more  than 
Five  Hundred  Common  Mistakes  in 
Speaking  Corrected.  75  cents. 

How  to  Behave :  a  Pocket  Manual 
of  Republican  Etiquette  and  Guide  to 
Correct  Personal  Habits,  with  Rules  for 
Debating  Societies  and  Deliberative 
Assemblies.  75  cents. 

How  to  Do  Business:  a  Pocket 
Manual  of  Practical  Affairs,  and  a  Guide 
to  Success  in  Life,  with  a  Collection  of 
Legal  and  Commercial  Forms.  750. 

How  to  Read.— What  and  Why  ;  or, 
Hints  in  Choosing  the  Best  Books,  with 
Classified  List  of  Best  Works  in  Biogra 
phy,  Criticism,  Fine  Arts,  History,  Nov 
els,  Poetry,  Science,  Religion,  Foreign 
Languages,  etc.  By  A.  V.  Petit.  Clo.,  $i. 

How  to  Sing  ;  or,  the  Voice  and  How 
to  Use  it.  By  W.  H.  Daniell.  soc ;  ?sc. 

How  to  Conduct  a  Public  Meeting  ; 
or,  The  Chairman's  Guide  for  Conduct 
ing  Meetings,  Public  and  Private.  15  cts. 

Hopes  and  Helps  for  the  Young  of 
BOTH  SEXES. — Relating  to  the  Forma 
tion  of  Character,  Choice  of  Avocation, 
Health,  Amusement,  Music,  Conversa 
tion,  Social  Affections,  Courtship  and 
Marriage.  By  Weaver.  $1.25. 

Aims  and  Aids  for  Girls  and  Young 
WOMEN,  on  the  various  Duties  of  Life. 
Including  Physical,  Intellectual,  and  Moral 
Development,  Dress,  Beauty,  Fashion, 
Employment,  Education,  the  Home  Re 
lations,  their  Duties  to  Young  Men,  Mar 
riage,  Womanhood  and  Happiness.  $1.25. 

Ways  of  Life,  showing  the  Right 
Way  and  the  Wrong  Way.  Contrasting 
the  High  Way  and  the  Low  Way ;  the 
True  Way  and  the  False  Way ;  the  Up 
ward  Way  and  the  Downward  Way  ;  the 
Way  of  Honor  and  of  Dishonor.  75  cts. 

The  Christian  Household.— Embrac 
ing  the  Husband,  Wife,  Father,  Mother, 
Child,  Brother  and  Sister.  $1.00. 


Weaver's    Works    for  the  Young, 

Comprising:  "  Hopes  and  Helps  for  the 
Young  of  Both  Sexes,"  "  Aims  and  Aids 
for  Girls  and  Young  Women,"  "Ways 
of  Life ;  or,  the  Right  Way  and  the 
Wrong  Way."  One  vol.  i2mo.  $2.50. 

The  Fallacies  in  "Progress  and 
POVERTY."  A  Consideration  of  Henry 
George's  "  Progress  and  Poverty,"  Henry 
Dunning  Macleod's  "Economics,"  and 
"The  Ethics  of  Protection  and  Free 
Trade."  By  William  Hanson.  Cloth,  $i. 

How  to  Learn  Short-Hand  ;  or,  The 

Stenographic  Instructor.  An  Improved 
System  of  Short-hand  Writing  arranged 
specially  for  the  use  of  those  desirous  of 
acquiring  the  art  without  the  aid  of  a 
teacher.  By  Arthur  M.  Baker.  25  cents. 

Phonographic  Note  -  Book.  —  For 
Students  and  Reporters.  Double  or  Sin 
gle  ruled.  15  cents. 

The  Emphatic  Diaglott,  Containing 
the  Original  Greek  Text  of  THE  NEW 
TESTAMENT,  with  an  Interlineary  Word- 
for-Word  English  Translation ;  a  New 
Emphatic  Version  based  on  the  Interline 
ary  Translation,  on  the  Readings  of  the 
Vatican  Manuscript  (No.  1,209  m  tne  Vat 
ican  Library).  By  Benjamin  Wilson. 
884  pp.,  $4.00;  extra  fine  binding  $5.00. 

A  Bachelor's  Talks  about  Married 
LIFE  AND  THINGS  ADJACENT.  By  Rev. 
William  Aikman,  D.D.  i2mo,  extra 
cloth,  $1.50.  Ready  November  i. 

History  of  Woman  Suffrage. — Illus 
trated  with  Steel  Engravings.  Edite^  l»y 
Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton,  Susan  B.  An 
thony,  Matilda  Joslyn  Gage.  Complete 
in  Three  Octavo  Volumes.  Price  per  Vol 
ume,  Cloth,  $5.00.  Sheep,  $6.50. 

Life  at  Home  ;  or,  The  Family  and 
its  Members.  Including  Husbands  and 
Wives,  Parents,  Children,  Brothers,  Sis 
ters,  Employers  and  Employed,  The  Altar 
in  the  House,  etc.  By  Rev.  William 
Aikman,  D.D.  i2mo,  $1.50 ;  full  gilt  $2. 

A  New  Theory  of  the  Origin,  of 
SPECIES.  By  Benj.  G.  Ferris.  $1.50. 

Man  in  Genesis  and  in  Geology  ,  or, 
the  Biblical  Account  of  Man's  Creation 
tested  by  Scientific  Theories  of  Ms  Origin 
and  Antiquity.  By  Joseph  P.  Thompson. 
D.D..LL.D.  $1.00. 


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MISCELLANEOUS    WORKS. 


The    Children    of   the    Bible.     By 

Fanny  L.  Armstrong,  with  an  Intro 
duction  by  Frances  E.  Willard,  Pres. 
N.  W.  C.  T.  U.  Extra  cloth.  Price,  $i. 
A  handsome  gift  for  children. 

The  Temperance  Reformation. — Its 

History  from  the  first  Temperance  Soci 
ety  in  the  United  States  to  the  Adoption 
of  the  Maine  Liquor  Law.  $1.50. 

Man  and  Woman,  Considered  in 
their  Relations  to  each  other  and  to  the 
World.  By  H.  C.  Pedder.  Cloth,  $i. 

JEsop's  Fables.— With  Seventy  Splen 
did  Illustrations.  One  vol.  i2mo,  fancy 
cloth,  gilt  edges,  $i.  People's  Edition, 
bound  in  boards,  25  cents. 

Pope's  Essay  on  Man,  with  Illustra 
tions  and  Notes  by  S.  R.  Wells.  i2mo, 
tinted  paper,  fancy  cloth,  full  gilt,  price  $i. 
People's  Edition,  bound  in  boards,  25c. 

Gems  of  Goldsmith:  "The  Travel 
er,"  "  The  Deserted  Village,"  "  The  Her 
mit."  With  notes  and  Original  Illustra 
tions,  and  Biographical  Sketch  of  the 
great  author.  One  vol.,  fancy  cloth,  full 
gilt,  $i.  People's  Ed.,  bound  in  boards,  25C. 

The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner. 
In  Seven  Parts.  By  Samuel  T.  Coleridge. 
With  new  Illustrations  by  Chapman.  One 
vol.,  fancy  cloth,  full  gilt,  $i.  People's 
Ed.,  bound  in  boards,  25  cents. 

Footprints  of  Life ;  or,  Faith  and  Na- 
TURE  RECONCILED. — A  Poem  in  Three 
Parts.  The  Body  ;  The  Soul ;  The  Deity. 
Philip  Harvey,  M.D.  $1.25. 

How  to  Paint. — A  Complete  Compen 
dium  of  the  Art.  Designed  for  the  use 
of  Tradesmen,  Mechanics,  Merchants  and 
Farmers,  and  a  Guide  to  the  Profession 
al  Painter,  Containing  a  plain  Common- 
sense  statement  of  the  Methods  employed 
by  Painters  to  produce  satisfactory  results 
in  Plain  and  Fancy  Painting  of  every  De 
scription,  including  Gilding,  Bronzing, 
Staining,  Graining,  Marbling,  Varnish 
ing,  Polishing,  Kalsomining,  Paper  Hang 
ing,  Striping,  Lettering,  Copying  and 
Ornamenting,  with  Formulas  for  Mixing 
Paint  in  Oil  or  Water.  Description  of 
Various  Pigments  used  :  tools  required, 
etc.  By  F.  B.  Gardner.  $1.00. 


The  Carriage  Painter's  Illustrated 
MANUAL,  containing  a  Treatise  on  the 
Art,  Science,  and  Mystery  of  Coach,  Car 
riage,  and  Car  Painting.  Including  the 
Improvements  in  Fine  Gilding,  Bronzing, 
Staining,  Varnishing,  Polishing,  Copying, 
Lettering,  Scrolling,  and  Ornamenting. 
B/  F.  B.  Gardner.  $1.00. 

How  to  Keep  a  Store,  embodying 
the  Experience  of  Thirty  Years  in  Mer 
chandizing.  By  Samuel  H.  Terry.  $1.50. 

How  to  Raise  Fruits. — A  Hand-book. 
Being  a  Guide  to  the  Cultivation  and 
Management  of  Fruit  Trees,  and  of 
Grapes  and  Small  Fruits.  With  Descrip 
tions  of  the  Best  and  Most  Popular  Varie* 
ties.  Illustrated.  By  Thomas  Gregg.  $i. 

How  to  be  Weather-Wise. — A  new 
View  of  our  Weather  System.  By  I.  P. 
Noyes.  25  cents. 

How  to  Live. — Saving  and  Wasting  ; 
or,  Domestic  Economy  Illustrated  by  the 
Life  of  two  Families  of  Opposite  Charac 
ter,  Habits,  and  Practices,  full  of  Useful 
Lessons  in  Housekeeping,  and  Hints  "How 
to  Live,  How  to  Have,  and  How  to  be 
Happy,  including  the  Story  of  "A  Dime 
a  Day,"  by  Solon  Robinson.  $1.25. 

Oratory — Sacred  and  Secular,  or  the 
Extemporaneous  Speaker.  Including  a- 
Chairman's  Guide  for  conducting  Public 
Meetings  according  to  the  best  Parliamen 
tary  forms.  By  Wm.  Pittenger.  $1.25. 

Homes  for  All ;  or,  the  Gravel  Wall. 

A  New,  Cheap,  and  Superior  Mode  of 
Building,  adapted  to  Rich  and  Poor. 
Showing  the  Superiority  of  the  Gravel 
Concrete  over  Brick,  Stone  and  Frame 
Houses  ;  Manner  of  Making  and  Deposit 
ing  it.  By  O.  S.  Fowler.  $1.25. 

The  Model  Potato. — Proper  cultiva 
tion  and  mode  of  cooking.  50  cents. 

Three  Visits  to  America.  By  Emily 
Faithfull.  400  pages.  $1.50. 

Capital  Punishment ;  or,  the  Proper 

TREATMENT  OF  CRIMINALS,  10  cents. 
"Father  Matthew,  the  Temperance  Apos 
tle,"  10  cents.  "Good  Man's  Legacy," 
10  cents.  Alphabet  for  Deaf  and  Dumb, 
10  cents. 


Sent  by  Mail,  post-paid.       FOWLER  &  WELLS  Co.,  753  Broadway,  New  York. 


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